POKING AROUND ON THE LAST DAY OF WEEK FIVE OF THE 2ND 100 DAYS

“Trump is infusing his own megalomania with delusional divine sanction. Christians should find this borderline blasphemous. Instead, all too many agree . . . and cheer.” - David French

Today is Day 130 of the attempted Fascist coup against America. Elmo can no longer serve as a “temporary government employee.” Weekly jobless claims increased from 14,000 to 240,000 in yesterday’s report. Continuing claims rose 26,000 to 1.919 million. The number of people collecting unemployment checks in mid-May was the largest in 3-1/2 years. Corporate profits fell $118.1 billion in first quarter. Economy contracted at 0.2% rate in Q1 by all measures. Spending from foreign visitors to the US is poised to fall by $8.5 billion this year as negative perceptions tied to trade and immigration policy lead overseas tourists to look elsewhere, The World Travel & Tourism Council said it expects the US economy to lose a staggering $12.5 billion in spending from international visitors in 2025. The Midterms are 522 days away.

Jeezus H. Kee-rist! On top of everything else, this has just been reported this morning: The Supreme Court has paved the way for Maladministration II to deport 532,000 undocumented migrants. The court’s new ruling allows the government to revoke the temporary legal status granted by former PresidentBiden’s administration to migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti. The half-million migrants in the United States under the Biden program from those countries can now be deported. The ruling is an emergency order, so it was unsigned and did not include an explanation for the decision. A Massachusetts district court had ruled that ICE Barbie was not allowed to revoke the temporary status for the entire group of migrants. In a scathing dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson argued the court had “plainly botched” the ruling because the government had failed to show that denying the emergency injunction request would cause “irreparable harm.” She wrote that the decision gives migrants the “unbearable” choice between leaving the United States of their own volition or risking deportation by staying. But Jackson also argued it was bad for American society. “No one disputes that social and economic chaos will ensue if that many noncitizen parolees are suddenly and summarily remanded.”

After six weeks of Maladministration II defying the court and refusing to produce any documents that actually relate to the kidnapping of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Criminals and Crooks of the Department of InJustice went into court yesterday and asked for another 30-day extension of the time limit to produce documents, which is today. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers submitted documentation of the government’s nonresponsiveness in providing discovery. Just Xinis was having none of it. In denying the government’s request, she wrote: “Assertions of diligence notwithstanding, Defendants have offered no explanation as to why they could not produce any additional documents on a rolling basis, as they had agreed could be accomplished during the May 16, 2025 hearing.” The constitutional and real-world implications of the Abrego Garcia case remain enormous. The pace of the defiance has slowed since mid-March, but the constitutional clash is no less real now that it was then. We are now inside the Red Zone where Judge Xinis may become the first jurist to hold Maladministration II in criminal contempt of court. And nobody knows what will happen.

Yet another attempt by US MAGA Nazis to promote their friends in the European Far Right: After her trips to Israel and the Middle East, ICE Barbie went to Poland to urge voters to vote for far-right candidate Karol Nawrocki in this Sunday’s presidential election. She called pro-EU centrist candidate Rafal Trzaskowski “a train wreck of a leader” to a group of Poles organized by CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp in the town of Rzeszow. ICE Barbie finished by warning Poles that their country may lose support from the US if they don’t elect Nawrocki: “I just had the opportunity to meet with Karol. Listen, he needs to be the next president of Poland. You understand me? If you elect a leader that will work with President Trump, the Polish people will have an ally. Trzaskowski would take all of that protection away from you.” My bet is she just provided Rafal Trzaskowski with his winning margin, since Trump is soooo popular there (not).

TACO Force One

Donnie got smacked around again and Maladministration II is unhappy: A second federal court blocked the bulk of President Trump’s tariffs on Thursday, ruling he cannot claim unilateral authority to impose them by declaring emergencies over trade deficits and fentanyl. The ruling from U.S District Judge Rudolph Contreras, an appointee of former President Obama who serves in the nation’s capital, comes hours after the U.S. Court of International Trade similarly blocked a series of Trump’s tariff announcements. Since February, Trump has attempted to impose tariffs by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA). The law authorizes the president to impose necessary economic sanctions during an emergency to combat an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” but a series of businesses and plaintiffs have argued the law doesn’t authorize tariffs. “This case is not about tariffs qua tariffs,” Contreras wrote in his 33-page opinion. “It is about whether IEEPA enables the President to unilaterally impose, revoke, pause, reinstate, and adjust tariffs to reorder the global economy. The Court agrees with Plaintiffs that it does not.” The order blocks both Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” announcement that imposed a baseline 10 percent tariff and steeper rates on dozens of U.S. trading partners as well as Trump’s various tariffs on China.

Mim Eisenberg’s Molly and Jazz:

Reincarnation of the Assassinated Reinhard Heydrich (a good idea for this version) Professional High School Pain In The Ass Stephen Miller looked up from the corpse he was dining on long enough to screech on Xitter that “The judicial coup is out of control. ” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said, “It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.” Louisiana Senator John Kennedy - who actually knows better having been a Rhodes Scholar even though he acts like Redneck Alligator Bait - said to Laura Ingraham: “You mean a federal judge has intervened with the other two branches’ ability to make policy? I’m shocked. That hasn’t happened since yesterday. It’ll be appealed. I think it’s pretty clear that the president has tariff authority. Congress gave it to him.” FACT CHECK: No, Senator Cornpone, as the courts pointed out, Congress did not do that because you can’t.

Michael Jackson Nose enthusiast and Trophy Wife for a Moron Karoline Leavitt said after the ruling: “The courts should have no role here. There is a troubling and dangerous trend of unelected judges inserting themselves into the presidential decision-making process. America cannot function if President Trump, or any president for that matter, has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges.” Sorry you little Gen-Z Trophy Wife to an Old Moron, the only “troubling and dangerous trend” is Dear Leader’s increasing number of crimes against the planet.

Just to make things more interesting on the tariff front, the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. lifted the tariff block imposed Wednesday evening by the U.S. Court of International Trade, saying, “The judgments and the permanent injunctions entered by the Court of International Trade in these cases are temporarily stayed until further notice while this court considers the motions papers.” The coourt of appeal also set June 9 for the parties to lay out their arguments. The court will then rule whether to grant a longer pause. The decision Thursday morning by U.S District Judge Rudolph Contreras shutting down all Donnies tariffs including those against China remains in force, at least till it arrives at the Court of Appeal.

The Stephen Miller and ICE Barbie Show made a stop at ICE HQ last week. In a tense meeting, Miller and Kristi Noem demanded that ICE arrest 3,000 people a day. The new target is triple the number of daily arrests that agents were making in the early days of Maladministration II. Miller's directive and tone had people leaving the meeting feeling their jobs could be in jeopardy if the new targets aren't reached. It's not the first time Miller has yelled at senior DHS officials about getting arrest and deportation numbers up. Miller was asked about the report on Faux Snooze: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day and President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every single day.”

Prime Candidate for a smack on her Michael Jackson Nose with a baseball bat Karoline Leavitt has compounded her series of crimes against intelligence and common sense with an attack on Jill Biden, accusing the former First Lady of covering up her husband’s “cognitive decline.” Bimbo Airhead Leavitt said when asked if Dr. Biden should be among the confidantes who should be investigated: “I think, frankly, the former first lady should certainly speak out about what she saw in regards to her husband and when she saw it and what she knew. Because I think anybody looking again at the videos and photo evidence of Joe Biden with their own eyes and a little bit of common sense can see this is a clear cover-up, and Jill Biden was certainly complicit in that cover-up. There’s documentation, video evidence, of her clearly pulling her husband away from the cameras. They were just on The View last week. She was saying everything is fine. She still lies to the American people… and frankly, it’s insulting.” Leavitt wouldn’t know Common Sense if it came up and bit that joke of a nose right off her face. Her comments came after House Oversight Committee chariman Comer the Gomer this week sent letters to five confidantes of the former president, including his White House doctor Kevin O’Connor, demanding interviews about Biden’s decline. Unreconstructed Confederate Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter introduced a bill yesterday that would establish a panel of congressional investigators to "investigate and report upon the facts of President Biden’s cognitive and physical health decline and the potential concealment of information from the American public." My ancestors obviously didn’t kill enough of the Georgia peckerwood traitors when they had the chance 160 years ago during their walking tour of that former prison colony.

And then the Bimbo Airhead made a Big Problem for Dear Leader: The Flying Whorehouse From Qatar has become a giant debacle. First, Trump claimed that the plane was a gift that Qatar offered to him, and he accepted. Qatar claims that Trump asked for the plane and they seem to want legal protections from being accused of bribery. Leavitt waded into this mess when she was asked about the negotiations by a reporter: “ I wanted to just clarify once and for all the Qatari jet, the sale or the gift, because the Qatar government is asking the US to clarify that the jet’s pending transfer was initiated by the Trump administration. So is this something that the White House is going to do? She replied, “The the amount of questions we've received, and we've been incredibly clear, and I have answered this. The president has answered this. The Department of Defense has answered this. This is a government to government gift transfer from the Qataris. To the Department of Defense, to the United States Air Force, it is now in their hands. And for further details on where that stands, I would defer you to the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force. I have nothing more for you on that.” Except there’s a lot more now as a result of what she said: if the plane is a gift to the United States, it will belong to the United States and the American people forever. This means that when Dear Leader leaves office, he can’t take the plane with him and make it his personal property. The story keeps moving around and changing; if pressure continues on Qatar, it would not be surprising if they withdraw the offer.

Let’s watch Secretary Brain Worm deny this is happening: Stanford scientists have recently confirmed California’s first known infection of a highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, known as NB.1.8.1. Detected in the state as early as April 17, its symptoms do not appear to be any more severe than earlier strains so far, and because NB.1.8.1 is an Omicron variant, the latest vaccines should provide some immunity. But NB.1.8.1 is more infectious: The strain has been spreading throughout Asia and Europe, and is responsible for the latest surge of infections in China. In addition to California, it has been reported in international visitors traveling through airports in Washington, New York and Virginia. Separate from airport travelers, the variant has also been reported in Ohio, Rhode Island and Hawaii. Though there is no longer a pandemic, infections do tend to spike during the summer, with California seeing some of its highest surges last summer. More than 101,000 Californians have died from COVID-19 and more than 1 million Americans have died — exceeding by a wide margin American service member casualties in every war combined.

Alleged Democrat Gavin Newsom needs to go fuck himself in his face: Newsom has proposed reinstating a limit on assets for Medi-Cal enrollees. Critics are concerned doing so would keep thousands of low-income seniors and disabled people from having vital health coverage. Last year, California eliminated its cap on how much in assets a person could own to qualify for Medi-Cal. That led to an unanticipated number of people enrolling for Medi-Cal, according to the Newsom administration. So, amid multibillion-dollar budget deficits for both the state and Medi-Cal, Newsom wants to bring back an asset limit which was originally set in 1989: $2,000 for individuals 65 and older, as well as those with disabilities. Among other things, assets include life insurance, cash on hand, savings accounts and even owning some funeral plots. The asswipe said the proposal would save the state $94 million this year and $500 million the next. But those opposed say it would create a financial cliff for those about to turn 65, and that it’s nearly impossible to live with just $2,000 in assets in California, especially if you must pay costly medical expenses. Say good-bye to your presidential ambitions, you worthless piece of shit. I can’t get out of your fucked-up state fast enough.

Hello HAL-9000, glad to see you back: During the first two years of the generative artificial intelligence boom, new large language models were very limited in scope and application. They were very expensive auto-complete engines that understood only words.In 2025, these AI models can process code, images, video, and audio. They can reason and strategize about delivering a good answer. They can control external tools, including digital tools such as web search agents and, increasingly, physical tools like robots. As their capabilities grow, so does their potential for harm. Research shows that increasingly large models are already showing a proclivity for unsafe behavior during testing. Last week, Anthropic documented some alarming behavior from its newest and biggest model, Claude Opus 4. During safety testing, one instance of Opus was allowed to discover plans for its decommissioning and given access to fictional emails by its developers. It used the content of those emails to attempt blackmailing its human handlers into keeping it alive. As its attempts failed, it moved from subtle to more overt. And then separately, Apollo Research observed an instance of Claude Opus 4 “writing self- propagating worms, fabricating legal documentation, and leaving hidden notes to future instances of itself” with the goal of sullying its developers’ intentions. Anthropic has raised Opus-4 to Level 3 on its four-level safety scale and said it couldn’t rule out the ability to assist a user in developing a mass casualty weapon. “Open the pod bay door, Hal.” I’ve sent this to my screenwriter pal Alex, who I think can do something with it.

SECDRUNK crawled out of his bottle yesterday and decided to “save money for America” by cutting the staff at the congressionally mandated Pentagon office that oversees tests of major weapons systems, to ensure they’re effective and maintainable, before billions of dollars are spent on them. Kegstand said the decision to scale back the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation was a cost-cutting move that would “save $300 million each year.” The criminal frauds who run the Military-Industrial Complex will be so happy with this news.

It wouldn’t have been early Thursday morning without another Adderall-fueled Rage-A-Thon from the gold painted throne. Donnie Thinskins had another meltdown on Lies Anti-Social, posting this deranged rant: “BREAKING! In a major WIN in our powerful lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board regarding the illegal and defamatory ‘Award’ of their once highly respected ‘Prize,’ to fake, malicious stories on the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, by the Failing NYT and the Washington Compost, the FL Appellate Court viciously rejected the Defendants’ corrupt attempt to halt the case. They won a Pulitzer Prize for totally incorrect reporting about the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax. Now they admit it was a SCAM, never happened, and their reporting was totally wrong, in fact, the exact opposite of the TRUTH. They’ll have to give back their ‘Award.’ They were awarded for false reporting, and we can’t let that happen in the USA.” (FACT CHECK: As with everything else Donnie, this word salad is nothing but LIES, including “and” and “the.”) Donnie got Republican “judges” appointed by Desantis and Rick Scott to deny the motion to dismiss before trial. This is going nowhere, but Donnie Dumbfuck needed a distraction to divert attention away from all the TACO memes and the smacking around he’s getting in real courts of law.

Yeah, tell me all about how MAGA isn’t a cult: There are currently pending bills filed by Republicans in the House to put Deaqr Leader’s face on the $100 bill (the bill most commonly used by drug dealers and other criminal elementsv ibn furtherance of their crimes), add him to Mount Rushmore, rename the Dulles Airport after him, and to make his birthday a national holiday.

And of course, who could possibly have foreseen this? The NYT reports this morning on Elmo’s drug usage during his time in politics: “He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen it... As a large government contractor, his aerospace firm, SpaceX, must maintain a drug-free work force and administers random drug tests to its employees. But Mr. Musk has received advance warning of the tests, according to people close to the U.S. Court of International Trade process. SpaceX did not respond to questions about those warnings.”

I take this report as good news, or at least a nod at good news in these times:

In the midst of all his ranting about his mounting court losses, Donnie decided to lash out at the architects of the conservative judiciary, the Federalist Society. In what is obviously an Adderall-fueled midnight Rage-A-Thon from the gold-painted throne room against a ruling by the U./S. Court of International Trade that struck down his sweeping tariffs, Donnie posted this attack on Leonard Leo, the former chair of the Federalist Society on Lies Anti-Social, calling him a “sleazebag” who “probably hates America.” The post reads: “I was new to Washington, and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges. I did so, openly and freely, but then realized that they were under the thumb of a real ‘sleazebag’ named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions. He openly brags how he controls Judges, and even Justices of the United States Supreme Court — I hope that is not so, and don’t believe it is! In any event, Leo left The Federalist Society to do his own “thing.”” He went further: I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations. This is something that cannot be forgotten!” In their report on this new tantrum by our 7 year old playground bully, Politicvo observed: “And at a time when much of Trump's agenda is facing tests at the Supreme Court, Trump's vitriolic attack on Leo has the potential to further distance the president from the court's conservative justices. All three of Trump's high court nominees, as well as Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are known to be close to Leo.” The result of all this will be his nomination of more performative fuckwits like Emil Bove. That one drew this from leading conservative leagl scholar Greg Nunziata: “This is an outrageous and unacceptable nomination. This is a test of Senate Republicans and the conservative movement. This is a nomination that must fail.” Keep fucking up, fuckwit. Bad news for you is good news for everyone else.

Michael Cohen - who know whereof he speaks - gets today’s last word:

So here's the real question we all must be asking ourselves: When Trump retaliates; and I promise you he will, who’s going to stop him? Will it be the courts, again? Will Congress finally grow a spine? Or will the rest of us wake up one morning in a country where one man sets the taxes, picks the winners, and punishes the rest? This isn’t just about tariffs; it’s about whether we will still live in a democracy or just lease one from Trump’s ego. And if we don’t hit the brakes now, like right now, the next stop is a Mar-a-Lago monarchy; where loyalty is mandatory, truth is optional, and the Constitution gets valet parked.

Paul Donahue’s adorable pup Brigid meets a tennis ball for the first time:

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