This Is A Cause For Renewed Concern: "Recombinant" Mpox Strains -- In The Wild, Now -- UK, And India In 2026

As ever. . . the clearest learning from the theory of evolution is. . . that it seeks, inexorably, a "survivable" advantage -- both for a virus, and a host.

So too with viral agents. Here's the latest -- from the UN health authorities:

. . .WHO confirmed that two cases of the recombinant strain – combining genomic elements of clades Ib and IIb of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) -- have been identified to date: one in the United Kingdom and one in India. Both patients had recent travel histories, and neither experienced severe illness.

No secondary cases were detected following contact tracing. . . .

[This is a biological] process that can occur when two related viruses infect the same person and exchange genetic material, producing a new variant. . . .

According to WHO, detailed genomic analysis shows the two individuals “fell ill several weeks apart with the same recombinant strain,” suggesting that additional undetected cases may exist. . . .

This is a time for exceedingly careful vigilance inside these two countries -- and most of Africa. Onward, to a highly regarded Roald Dahl children's musical play in the Loop. . . smile.

नमस्ते

NASA Crew-12 Live ISS Docking Complete... εpsilon Gets Underway In Earnest.

Well, Sophie's εpsilon feed is now fully live at the ISS. Here is the live feed -- inline, from YouTube:

. . .NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission launched at 5:15 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the orbiting laboratory is targeted to dock at 3:12 p.m. on Saturday. Live mission coverage begins at 1:15 p.m. . . .

The εpsilon mission name embodies the essence of small, yet impactful, contributions.

In mathematics, ε denotes a small quantity, much like an astronaut's role in the vastness of spaceflight.

In astronomy, it represents the fifth-brightest star in a constellation. . . .

This will disappear once the live stream has ended -- around 7 pm Eastern this evening.

नमस्ते

The Right To Peaceably Dissent Is Under Attack, By Noem, Et Al…

These are strange times, indeed.

And yet and still -- the Fourth Amendment continues to apply to all goofy administrative subpoenas -- like these. There is simply nothing unlawful about opposing -- by peacefully speaking out -- against lawless ICE activity. Thus, there can be no probable cause -- for any such subpoena.

So. . . I have proactively made it very clear in a written notice to each of these companies listed below, that should they receive a subpoena of any kind, for any part of my details, I am insisting on my right to be notified at least 14 days in advance (in writing) before any such company complies with these lawless searches.

Here is the latest on the broader narrative, from the Gray Lady:

. . .In recent months, Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, have received hundreds of administrative subpoenas from the Department of Homeland Security, according to four government officials and tech employees privy to the requests. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Google, Meta and Reddit complied with some of the requests, the government officials said. In the subpoenas, the department asked the companies for identifying details of accounts that do not have a real person’s name attached and that have criticized ICE or pointed to the locations of ICE agents. The New York Times saw two subpoenas that were sent to Meta over the last six months.

The tech companies, which can choose whether or not to provide the information, have said they review government requests before complying. Some of the companies notified the people whom the government had requested data on and gave them 10 to 14 days to fight the subpoena in court. . . .

To be clear, nothing about this frightens me. I stand ready to fully vindicate my rights (and seek large damages awards, from Noem) in federal court wherever and whenever needed. Bank on that.

[And here's to wishing St. Valentine's passion (and luck) -- to all the US bobsled and luge team members!]

नमस्ते

Either Next Friday -- Or The Following Tuesday or Wednesday -- We Will Get The Tariffs Invalidation Opinion, From the Supremes [Likely 6-3]...

The Supremes today added three opinion days to the calendar.

The first of those is next Friday, February 20, 2026.

I'm betting that will be the tariffs invalidation opinion -- but we shall see.

. . .The Court may announce opinions on Friday, February 20, Tuesday, February 24, and Wednesday, February 25. Opinions will be posted on the homepage after announcement from the Bench. . . .

Onward, grinning. . . to watch some bobsledding. . . and eat some bon-bons.

नमस्ते

[U: Funding Restored.] Friday Morning's Update, In The Second Cir. -- Hudson Tunnel "Naming" Litigation -- About Two More Weeks...

Updated: it is a temporary order, from the status conference this afternoon, but it is an order nonetheless. USDC Judge Vargas has ordered that the government pay the contractors by the end of business today, New York time. Which will be in about eight minutes. In the coming weeks, the Second Circuit may or may not change this, but for tonight, the money is sent. End update.

Ahem, just as we said: the Second Circuit in Manhattan will rule pretty expeditiously, given that he companies are owed over $220 million from Tangerine 2.0 at this point.

Here's the latest text only order:

. . .Appellants move for a stay of the district court’s February 6, 2026 order.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion is REFERRED to a motions panel sitting as early as the week of February 23, 2026. . . .

Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

This Is, In Many Respects, A "Return To Home Base" -- At Sanofi, For Belén Garijo, M.D., Ph.D...

To be clear, this is the (no relation) German Merck -- and its transitionings.

We do follow it, though -- because a clearly multi-billion dollar Lanham Act trial will take place later this year, in New Jersey's federal courts -- over which of these behemoths properly owns the right to use the name "Merck". [And yes, it has been going on since the Treaty of Versailles in 1917 -- you can find over 100 posts on that topic here by searching in the upper left.]

In any event, here is the estimable FiercePharma, with the latest -- and a bit:

. . .Garijo will bring “increased rigor” to implementing the company’s strategy, Sanofi explained in an early-morning press release. Garijo’s priority will be to strengthen the productivity, governance and innovation capacity for R&D, the Paris-based pharma added. . . .

Garijo joined French pharmaceutical company Rhône-Poulenc Rorer in 1996, moved to Aventis after the companies merged and ended up at Sanofi as the result of another takeover. Sanofi said Garijo led the integration of Genzyme before leaving to join Merck KGaA in 2011. Garijo was born in 1960, and Sanofi will need to change its articles of association to raise its CEO age limit upon appointment before she takes the post.

Freeing up Garijo to take the top Sanofi post is the separate leadership transition taking place at Merck KGaA. In September, the German healthcare and electronics conglomerate announced that Garijo would conclude her five-year tenure as chief executive at the end of April, as planned. Kai Beckmann, who is currently the company's CEO of electronics, will take over as Merck KGaA's new group CEO May 1. . . .

That's probably the end of power alley stuff for today. Smile -- as now, chocolates await, with fresh deeply-red cherries and piping hot coffee!

नमस्ते

About An Hour And A Half Ago, Crew-12 Left The Cape… Docking At ISS Tomorrow Around 3 PM EST.

Excellent -- and a clean ride -- into orbit!

Now its chosen trajectory will, by Valentine's afternoon, let it "kiss" the ISS, and start a planned nine month stay:

. . .Four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission launched at 5:15 a.m. EST Friday from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for a science expedition aboard the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled a Dragon spacecraft into orbit carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. . . .

Onward, as a much needed Homeland Security zero budget shutdown looms. [Karma is. . . a wheel, to be sure.]

नमस्ते

Good Riddance -- And As Gov. Walz Just Said "You Must Pay, To Fix What You... Broke." ICE, Out -- Of Minnesota, Now.

I've been detained in the courts today, but I am certain most of you have already seen this. Homan is turning tail (just as Bovino & Noem did, at the end of September, in Chicago). . . and running away.

But that will not be the end of it -- the feckless and lawless federal government agencies (and the agents who committed crimes) will be embroiled in litigation now, for years -- here in Minneapolis and in Chicago. Here's the latest, via CNN:

. . .A bitterly divided Washington is headed for its third government funding lapse of President Donald Trump’s second term — this time, a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security over the issue of federal immigration enforcement.

With lawmakers leaving town Thursday, funding for the department is set to expire Friday at midnight.

GOP leaders sent their members home after the two parties made no concrete progress toward a deal that Democrats are demanding must rein in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations after last month’s fatal shootings by federal agents of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota. . . .

What a horribly tragic episode this all has been, in our nation's history. It dishonors the legacy of the Lady in The Harbor, to be certain. Onward, resolutely -- just the same. Onward -- to find more chocolates. . . smile.

नमस्ते

I Deeply Hope That 84-Year-Old Mrs. Guthrie Is Returned Home, Safely... And I Do Wonder About... Nearly 95,000 "Missing" Young Black Girls In America...

I absolutely understand why the public becomes fixated, when a relative of a celebrity goes missing. And certainly, this one has been full of dramatic twists and turns -- and involves a deeply-sympathetic 84 year old mom of outstanding character. I fervently hope she is returned home, safely. [But candidly, the statistics would sadly say that each day now that she remains unfound. . . increases the odds that she is never found -- at least not. . . alive.]

And. . . I think we all should take a breath, and realize there are probably now over 100,000 young Black and brown women who've also "disappeared" in America (just since 2022) -- and we do not even know their names, let alone their stories. And in point of fact, far fewer resources are moving toward finding any of them. [There are also over 200,000 white women (most of limited means) similarly missing, too -- and none of us know even 1% of those names. . . and stories.]

I want these faceless ones to matter, too. We all do. And we need to allocate AWAY from ICE interdiction slush funds, and deploy those billions to finding the missing women and children. That is what a humane society would do. Here's a now-rather-dated Biden era explainer from the DoJ. Trump hasn't bothered to update anything like this, since taking office (as it doesn't fit into his narrative of imagined other-ness and divisiveness):

. . .[A]ccording to a recent study published in the peer-reviewed general medical journal The Lancet, Black women are six times more likely to be murdered than their white peers. These stark and tragic statistics reveal and underscore systemic issues of bias, neglect, and a lack of resources that hinder effective responses to this crisis. . . .

According to the National Crime Information Center, in 2022, of the 271,493 girls and women reported missing, 97,924, or over 36 percent, were Black, despite the fact that Black women and girls comprised only 14 percent of the U.S. female population at the time. . . .

Tell the Congress -- that money we are going to allocate AWAY from ICE -- ought to go, at least in part, to these efforts. And to feeding the one in five Americans who regularly go hungry, here in this privileged society. Onward.

नमस्ते

Tangent: An Odd Twist -- In The Mulleady Prosecution: New AUSA "Is Friends With" Christie Smythe... Should Recusal Lie?!

Welp. Here is the promised more substantive update, on all matters tangential to Martin Shkreli (from another of my properties):

Mr. Mulleady's lawyers in Miami have moved to have the newly-assigned AUSA on his triple felonies indictment. . . recuse himself. [You'll recall that he made what were apparently pretty credible threats -- to kill Martin and others, on recorded lines -- and in emails and texts. So he's due to go to trial in (what will now likely be moved to late) March, on those.]

In any event, here's the gravamen of it -- and of the two, the second [friends with Ms. Smythe] one may be the more relevant basis for recusal:

. . .On February 5, 2026, AUSA Jonathan Jacobson notified the defense by email that he will be assuming the case from AUSA Hannah for trial. On a phone call on Friday, February 6, 2026, AUSA Jacobson then informed the undersigned of two potential personal conflicts as to this case, and asked the defense to confirm in writing its position on these conflicts. First, he explained that he worked on Martin Shkreli’s criminal case “in a limited capacity” while clerking for the judge who presided over Mr. Shkreli’s criminal trial, Judge Kiyo Matsumoto. Second, he explained that he is friends with and was formerly the colleague of a journalist, Christie Smythe, who engaged in a well-publicized romantic relationship with Martin Shkreli. The undersigned did not initially anticipate that these facts would create a conflict of interest of concern, and informed AUSA Jacobson as much. . . .

Specifically, the defense learned that Mr. Mulleady had been (incorrectly) named as a co-conspirator in Mr. Shkreli’s criminal trial -- that is, the trial on which AUSA Jacobson worked as a law clerk for the presiding judge -- and that he was discussed extensively during that trial. The defense also learned that Mr. Mulleady personally knows Ms. Smythe, the friend of AUSA Jacobson, and has spent time with her on multiple occasions; in addition, Ms. Smythe, who covered Mr. Shkreli’s prosecution in her capacity as a journalist and wrote a self-published memoir about her affair with Mr. Shkreli, has also written about Mr. Mulleady. The defense discussed these issues with AUSA Jacobson on a call on February 10, 2026, in an effort to resolve them without the Court’s intervention.

However, AUSA Jacobson (who had not yet entered an appearance in the case at the time of this phone call) notified the undersigned that he planned to enter his appearance despite the defense’s position, and that he would oppose any motion to recuse him from the case. . . .

Do stay tuned, kids! This might be an entertaining side-narrative, afterall. [More seriously, I cannot imagine why Mr. Jacobsen is the only available AUSA in Miami at the moment. It would seem prudent, to just let another AUSA handle it -- unless this is evidence that AUSAs have been resigning under Trump, and cannot be replaced -- because no one wants to swear the Tangerine loyalty oath he is reputedly requiring of AUSAs. If that is so, then for certain it ought not be Mr. Jacobsen in the first seat (in my opinion).]

नमस्ते

As We Said, On Monday... Gilead Is A Very Fine Company: Up 5% On NASDAQ, After Solid Q4 Print...

And Needham has now posted a near term $170 price target for the maker of what is effectively an AIDS cure.

This is all great news -- and yes, this is power alley stuff, for us. In any event, here's the latest:

. . .While late-stage, big-ticket acquisitions remain possibilities for Gilead, the pharma is not as pressed as its peers to ink major deals to beef up its product pipeline.

“We may not have the urgency of other companies in this sector,” CEO Daniel O’Day told investors in a call Tuesday afternoon to present the company’s full-year 2025 earnings results. But, he added, “we’re very proactive and disciplined.”

However, the pharma isn’t completely closing its doors on takeovers. O’Day noted that Gilead will “continue to add to our pipeline with appropriate M&A over the course of the coming years.”

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets echoed the sentiment, stating in a note to investors Wednesday morning that M&A for Gilead would be “nice to have” but not a necessity. If M&A were on the table, the analysts would look for activity “in core areas: liver disease, oncology, and inflammation. . . .”

Onward, smiling into a warming sunshine. . . be excellent to one another.

नमस्ते

Pirro’s Latest Farce — Against Free Speech — Was “No Billed” Tonight.

This result (no indictments -- inaminously, against six people, in an attempt to criminalize peaceful but dissenting speech) is not remotely surprising to anyone who understands the United States Constitution. And not, to anyone who understands that the federal criminal justice system is not a political tool to be weilded by a psychopath -- at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

These are dark times -- but the system of checks and balances is -- in general -- working. Tangerine 2.0 is increasingly being shown for the petulant sociopath he is. Moreover, no one he is seeking retribution against is ever gonna' go to jail. [But he still might, after 2028.] Here's the latest:

. . . Sen. Kelly denounced the administration’s repeated efforts to target him and his colleagues.

“This is an outrageous abuse of power by Donald Trump and his lackeys,” he said in a statement. “Donald Trump wants every American to be too scared to speak out against him. The most patriotic thing any of us can do is not back down.”

Time and again, the Justice Department under Mr. Trump has brought questionable criminal cases against foes of the president — among them, James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and Letitia James, New York’s attorney general.

Even though many of these cases have been weak, the department has apparently determined that it may be better to fail in court rather than push back against Mr. Trump’s well-known desire for revenge. . . .

Geez -- what a waste of skin that codger is. Out.

नमस्ते

Don Lemon Has Hired A Top Notch Defense Lawyer — But He Won’t Need Him.

Joseph Thompson — who, as of last month, became a criminal defense lawyer — is the former US Attorney for Minneapolis. He was previously a prosecutor in Chicago — and had clerked for Judge Pallmeyer here. . . all of which reflects very well on his abilities.

The Boys from Main Justice will lose for certain now.

Don Lemon doesn’t need such high-powered help — given that his First Amendment / news gathering defense is iron clad — but I think he just wants to “run up the score”, against the MAGA idiots.

Flawless.

नमस्ते

In The Hudson Tunnel Matter -- An ALJ May Rule By March 10, But That Doesn't Stop A USDC Judge, Tonight...

The construction companies / contractors and their workers are owed over $220 million -- from the federal government's Dept. of Transportation. And. . . Tangerine is refusing to to pay them because they won't rename the project the Trump Tunnel.

This is patently lawless. And 100% Trump's four decades long M.O. Disgusting.

But there is no valid procedural reason, for the US position before an ALJ to take front seat, over the existing USDC [full court] proceedings in Manhattan, before a real Art. III judge. None. But that's what the Tangerine 2.0 forces are pushing, tonight:

. . .This Office represents defendants-appellants (the “government”) in the above-named appeal. The government respectfully writes pursuant to Rule 28(j) to apprise the Court of the expedited briefing schedule in Gateway Development Commission v. United States, No. 26-176, the related action before the Court of Federal Claims.

On February 10, 2026, a status conference was held in that court. During that conference, the court ordered an expedited briefing schedule on Gateway Development Commission’s (“GDC’s”) motion for partial summary judgment seeking immediate payment of past-due money, i.e., $205 million—the same relief plaintiffs in this action demand. The court indicated that after briefing is completed, it would issue a ruling from the bench on March 12, 2026.

The expedited schedule in the Court of Federal Claims demonstrates that that court is moving quickly to resolve the issues before it. Given that plaintiffs in this case are seeking the same relief as GDC is pursuing in the Court of Federal Claims, an administrative stay and stay pending appeal of the district court’s order is especially warranted to avoid interfering with the pending parallel litigation in the GDC matter. . . .

Ridiculous. Out.

नमस्ते

Update: She Then Raced For... Poland -- In The NEXT Summer Games, In Paris... She May Run the 4X100, For The '26 Summer Games -- Representing Poland.

[Editor's Note: I want this to stay on top all evening, tonight as the Games progress -- so I've now double posted it. There are no other changes. Do watch the video. Out.] My morning masthead has put me in mind of this event, from the Tokyo Summer Games, of 2021.

Here's a CNN updating piece -- from 2023:

. . .Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the Belarusian sprinter who defected at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, has been cleared by World Athletics to compete for Poland after it waived the normal three-year waiting period for nationality changes.

Tsimanouskaya refused to board a flight back home from Tokyo when she was removed from the Olympics against her will after publicly complaining about national team coaches’ decision to enter her in the 4x400 meters relay, which was not her customary distance.

She defected to Poland, saying she feared for her safety if she returned to Belarus. Poland granted her citizenship last year (2022). . . .

“There is a chance that I will go to the world championships in Budapest,” she added, referring to the competition starting on August 19.

Tsimanouskaya told Reuters last year she wanted another chance to compete at the Olympics. She hoped to race in the 200m at next year’s Paris Games, the event she had been set to run in Tokyo the day after Belarus removed her from the team.

Belarusians and Russians are currently barred from competing at international athletics meets because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for which Belarus is a staging area of what Moscow calls a “special military operation”. . . .

In some sense, we are all. . . immigrants -- we are all. . . asylum seekers. Onward.

नमस्ते

In Which "ICE Barbie" Thinks She Can DICTATE What Congress May And May Not Do, As "Oversight" Of Her [To This Point, Largely Unaccountable] Militia...

Welp. She is "an inferior officer" -- in both the Constitutional sense -- and plain English parlance. She is plainly. . . inferior, in every sense of the word.

She has no authority to countermand, disobey or revoke a federal court TRO. But she thinks her Black Sharpie has that power. Not so. [Now we need the Democrats in Congress to hold the line -- and let the GOP shutdown the government, until the same are ready to zero out ICE Barbie's budget -- and start over. Killings via a vastly slush-funded, largely unaccountable private militia [ICE / DHS] are not what the founders had in mind.]

In any event, here is her patent-lunacy in full -- pulled from an exhibit (in the federal litigation that has preliminarily enjoined her attempts at bossing the Congress around, in DC), and filed in open court:

. . .On January 8, 2026, I issued a new policy directing that requests by Members of Congress to visit an ICE facility be submitted at least seven days in advance of the visit.

On February 2, 2026, in Neguse v. ICE, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily enjoined DHS from enforcing that policy or otherwise requiring any plaintiff to provide advance notice before conducting oversight visits for a period of 14 days. . . .

The court concluded that DHS’s policy remains inconsistent with Section 527(b) of the Department’s appropriation [funding]. It is odd that the court issued this decision given the appropriation containing Section 527(b) lapsed on January 31, 2026. [Note that Noem has no standing to call a USDC court's order "odd". She may appeal it, but she cannot just sign a new memo (ignoring it). That is the stuff of. . . Putin.]

As a result of the [funding] lapse, Section 527 is not currently in effect. Therefore, as of this date, I am issuing this new policy that is identical in substance to the January 8 access policy. The General Counsel will provide further guidance regarding the effective date of this policy in light of the court’s order. . . .

What an idiotic faux-cowgirl she is. Sit your leather-tanned face self down, ICE Barbie.

नमस्ते

Now Likely Friday Morning -- Weather At The Cape -- Delays Crew 12 Launch, Off Of Thursday...

As is often the case -- Florida weather can be. . . dynamic, this time of year. So we push a day (or a few days, even).

We will keep you informed, but here is the latest -- from NASA:

. . .NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 5:15 a.m. EST, Friday, Feb. 13, for launch of the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Mission teams completed a weather review Tuesday morning and have waived off the Thursday, Feb. 12, launch opportunity due to forecast weather conditions along Crew-12’s flight path.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev remain in quarantine at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida until the next launch opportunity.

Crew-12 will lift off aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40, and would then dock to the space station’s Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. The commercial crew quartet will stay in space for a nine-month microgravity research mission. . . .

Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते

And So, Unsurprisingly, The Wash. Times Mis-Represented What Wetherell's "Settlement" Actually Holds...

We wrote over the weekend about this Washington Times piece of agit-prop -- masquerading as journalism.

Nowhere does the Times give a cite to the actual case or decision, in Florida's northern district federal courthouse.

We now know why -- and it wasn't to preserve any "scoop" value.

The "settlement" not only means nothing -- it means less than nothing. It is a political manifesto, exclusively. Written by a bunch of MAGA-nuts.

You see -- it is as clear as day that both future administrations, and USDC Judges not a party to this litigation (i.e., all of the judges in the nation, except Wetherell) CANNOT be stopped from GRANTING parole or even asylum, based on individual factors.

For example, if someone detained. . . has no prior criminal record in the US of any kind. . . any official may order parole. Even an ICE agent on the ground may use discretion, and not arrest -- at all.

That is what 8 USC § 1182(d)(5) plainly mandates -- and the actual text of the "settlement" acknowledges, thus:

. . .The consent decree provides that the PWC memorandum be vacated pursuant to 5 USC § 706. It is the position of the Department of Justice that the APA does not authorize a court to vacate an agency rule, and that if vacatur is an available remedy, then like all equitable remedies, such relief must be subject to traditional equitable limitations, including the principle of party-specific relief.

The Department acknowledges, however, that there is substantial authority opposing this position in some circuits, including the Eleventh Circuit, though the Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue. In jointly requesting with Plaintiff that the Court enter the parties' proposed consent decree, the Department agrees not to pursue this position in this case. . . .

So this is all just some faux-red meat -- for the morons -- purely a show pony, for old DeSantis. . . and a vast waste of taxpayer money -- for political posturing.

Idiotic -- at best.

Out.

नमस्ते

So… Trump’s Dr. Oz Thinks He Might Boil The Oceans — With A Zippo Lighter?!

We have been barking about this ever since Tangerine 2.0 was inaugurated. You know that rings true. Damn.

And perhaps some out there in my audiences might think I should applaud the fact that finally Oz is coming around -- to endorse bio-science, here -- after over 900 children are infected in the Carolinas with a dread disease for which there is a perfectly serviceable vaccine. . . a viral vector we had all but eliminated well over three decades ago. . . but I am just too damn angry to do so, tonight. US kids are getting sick -- and at least some may die -- due to Trumpian lunacy.

Here is the latest:

. . .Dr. Oz’s statements come as the country struggles to contain the highly contagious virus, which infected thousands of people in 2025 and appears to be following a similar trajectory this year. The United States is now at risk of losing its elimination status, a designation given to countries that have not had continuous spread of measles for more than a year. Measles has been eliminated in the United States since 2000.

Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, likened Dr. Oz’s comments to taking a garden hose to a forest fire.

“When you cast those kinds of doubts about vaccine safety and effectiveness, one interview on one news show is not going to move the needle,” he said.

Dr. Osterholm argued that Mr. Kennedy began sowing distrust in the vaccine soon after he was confirmed last February. As measles spread through West Texas, he appeared on national television, encouraging vaccination and then, almost in the same breath, raising questions about its safety. . . .

Quite so. Dammit. This will be Trump's enduring legacy -- he needlessly killed an excess number of otherwise healthy US kids -- who would have contributed to society. . . but for his spewing lunacy to low information parents in mostly red states. Damn.

नमस्ते

[U] More Loony Trumpian Judges -- Trying To Prevent The Immigrants' "Parole Discretion" Congress Expressly Enacted... YAWN.

In immigration matters, the Congress has expressly provided that Administrations retain discretion, both for operational efficiency, and / or lack of detention capacity, to "parole" non-dangerous people, until their hearing dates arrive. That discretion has existed for decades. But in a collusive State of Florida suit, the federal government now purports (with DeSantis) to PREVENT all immigration authorities in the future -- from ever exercising the discretion the Congress wisely bestowed on the FUTURE executive branch heads.

It matters not that the "settlement decree" is limited to 15 years, or 2041. Parties to a private lawsuit cannot take away the Congressional mandate -- by colluding together, solely to tie the hands of any future Democratic occupant of 1600 Penn. It simply cannot be done (where did this "judge" get his law degree?!).

Just as in political maps / gerrymandering, the Supremes will invalidate this overreach, probably even before the 2028 election outcomes are known. Update: it turns out that this order says nothing of the sort. It is simply a political manifesto by MAGA-nuts. See my new post, of Tuesday, February 10, 2026 -- on it all. End update.

Here's a right-wing rag's write up on this chicanery -- it is self refuting:

. . .“[All future US governmental] Defendants agree not to issue any memorandum or otherwise adopt any policy that uses the Secretary of Homeland Security’s parole authority under Section 1182(d)(5) to create a categorical processing pathway for aliens at the border primarily to alleviate concerns over detention capacity or improve the Department of Homeland Security’s operational efficiency, including any memorandum or policy shifting the initiation of removal proceedings from the border to the interior or otherwise postponing the initiation of removal proceedings. . . .”

So no, son -- your googly eyes will not allow you to rewrite a congressional mandate -- and apply it nationwide, just because one state Governor (DeSantis) is willing to try to thwart federal law -- and checks and balances.

Onward, resolutely.

नमस्ते