Endangered Species

“We’re developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works.

Chief Justice John Roberts

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Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

69 thoughts on “Endangered Species”

  1. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/12/chief-justice-roberts-speech-georgetown-00343406

    Chief Justice John Roberts described the rule of law as “endangered” and warned against “trashing the justices,” but speaking in Washington Monday he didn’t point fingers directly at President Donald Trump or his allies for publicly excoriating judges who’ve ruled against aspects of Trump’s agenda.
    “The notion that rule of law governs is the basic proposition,” Roberts said during an appearance at Georgetown Law. “Certainly as a matter of theory, but also as a matter of practice, we need to stop and reflect every now and then how rare that is, certainly rare throughout history, and rare in the world today.”
    As many legal experts express grave concern about Trump’s attacks on law firms and with several federal judges advancing inquiries into whether the administration is refusing to comply with court orders, Roberts took a longer-term view Monday. He blamed schools for shortchanging civics education and leaving students with little understanding of the structure of U.S. government or the role of the courts.
    “That’s really too bad,” the chief justice told graduating students at the law school. “We’re developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works.”
    Roberts suggested some recent verbal attacks on the justices had gone too far, but he gave no specific examples. “The court has obviously made mistakes throughout its history, and those should be criticized, so long as it is in terms of the decision, really, and not ad hominem against the justices. I just think that doesn’t do any good,” the chief justice said.
    […]
    Roberts assured the students Monday that the tense public atmosphere surrounding the judiciary and the fact that the justices “disagree a lot” hasn’t led to the kind of “toxic” personal strife that has permeated the Supreme Court at various times in its history.
    “We have to work together on these things that are difficult. You find a way to get along,” Roberts said. “It’s a long job. If you’re sort of really at each other’s throats with bad feelings and stuff like that, it just — it’s not a good way to function. … We do have to address some very, very difficult things, and we’re the only people who are doing it.”
    For the second time in a week, Roberts, 70, signaled that he has no plans to step down from the court. As he discussed the recent death of retired Justice David Souter, Roberts recalled his former colleague’s “unconventional” decision to step down in 2009 at age 69 without any known health issues or indication his mind was declining. Roberts said Souter said he wanted to return to New Hampshire and “get back to reading some good books.”
    “There aren’t many people who would have that kind of perspective, including myself — I wouldn’t claim to have that kind of view — but sort of a very good, balanced way of looking at all of it,” the chief justice said.

  2. also endangered: ethics

    President Trump is set to accept a gift from Qatar worth $400 million, the administration reached a temporary deal with China to lower tariffs, and Fox News host Jeanine Pirro is the new acting U.S. Attorney for D.C.

  3. Jon’s take on Herr Miller’s take away of due process and Dodo’s latest take of gift

    After Trump teased an upcoming “big announcement” last week, Jon Stewart contemplates what news Americans are supposed to be so psyched for: the possible suspension of due process, Trump’s appointment of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as D.C. district attorney, Qatar’s $400 million luxury jet “gift” for Trump, or lower prices on the “fat shot drug”?

  4. by the way and lest we forget….
    Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution:

    No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State

    Ivy, thanks for reminding us about this last night.


  5. Is Trump’s $400M Qatar Gift Plane Constitutional? Emoluments Clause Explained #trump
    This clip tackles a hot-button political and legal controversy involving a massive foreign gift to a U.S. president, sparking debate on constitutional ethics and foreign influence, which drives strong engagement and shares.

  6. No, there’s not a workaround to avoid the emoluments clause. At least not one that passes the constitutional 🙄 test

  7. ‘The Hobby Horse Of Popularity’
    Alexander Hamilton, writing in 1792 to George Washington:

    “The only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion. . . When a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper … is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity … It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’”

  10. The only possible workaround is if the plane is a gift to the American people, but that would mean it stays with the current fleet after Trump left office, and he has already said he is keeping it.

  11. Trump’s ‘Free’ Plane From Qatar Will Still Cost Taxpayers a Fortune

    President Donald Trump is getting a swanky new plane thanks to Qatar—and American taxpayers.
    Though the $400 million “flying palace” will indeed be gifted “free of charge” by the Qatari Defense Ministry to the Pentagon, the cost of retrofitting and maintaining the Boeing 747-8 to make it safe and secure enough to transport Trump can easily add up to millions of dollars.
    “It is important to remember that Air Force One is not just some gold-plated luxury jet,” Connecticut Rep. Joe Courtney said in a statement on Monday. “It requires extensive, advanced security and communications capabilities.”
    The aircraft would have to be torn down and rebuilt to install secure presidential communication lines, self-defense technology, and electromagnetic shielding. Former Air Force acquisitions chief Andrew Hunter told Politico that retrofitting costs would likely fall “in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars.”
    Hunter said sweeping the Qatari-gifted jet for software modifications or embedded technology would incur an additional fee: “That’s not a trivial thing to do. That alone would cost tens of millions of dollars.”
    Courtney, the top Democrat on the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, said the gift “would present significant, needless cost and delay issues for retrofitting the Qatari plane and distract the Air Force’s efforts speed up delivery of the actual new Air Force One fleet.”
    Former Air Force official Kevin Buckley noted that retrofitting would also come at a cost to an already limited military manpower.
    “If you’re pulling people into doing this new thing, you’re not pulling them out of the air,” he told Politico. “You’re pulling them out of the same labor pool — and a very specialized one. You’re talking about people with high clearances who already have a ton of work on their plate.”
    Maintaining and operating a presidential aircraft is no cheap task, either. The Pentagon reportedly estimated in 2021 that long-term operations and support costs for Air Force One, a VC-25B aircraft, could rack up to $7.7 billion.
    “This gift could become a very expensive asset to own and operate,” Hunter said. “You might even ask why Qatar no longer wants the aircraft. And the answer may be that it’s too expensive for them to maintain.”
    [continues]

    so, as I understand it, due to the original fixed contract with boing plus the refit of the Qatar plane we taxpayers are being hit up for costs on 2 air force ones just to keep baby dodo happy.

  12. “We’re developing a situation where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense about how our system of justice works. – Chief Justice John Roberts

    More likely they have a perverted sense of how our justice system works, thanks in large part to the injustices being tolerated and promulgated by certain judges and chief justices.

  13. If it’s gifted to the Pentagon, I don’t believe it can later be transferred to Dumbass. The devil is in the details.

  16. The easiest thing to do is to shove the plane in a hanger, take it apart in preparation for hardening, security and all the rest. It should take longer than sfb will be upright to do the job.

  17. Ahhh Ivy… you beat me to it with your 9:28 comment.

    Chief Justice Roberts apparently doesn’t understand irony… or maybe he does.

  19. BB, I could be wrong (not a first) but I would bet that the plane would have to go to Being to be upgraded to the AF1 standards. You know, the Boeing that is a bit behind on its delivery of the planes it was awarded the contract to build in 2018 for delivery in 2024.

    The Air Force and Boeing want to have a replacement for Air Force One ready by 2027 — two years earlier than the 2029 estimate the White House shared last month — and are searching for options to speed up production,[Darlene] Costello, [the Air Force’s acting assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics] told lawmakers.

    That’s from WaPo this morning

    Google AI’s overview says:

    It takes about 43 days to complete the final assembly of a Boeing 747. This timeframe includes the major stages of fitting together large sections of the aircraft, such as attaching wings, joining the aft and front sections, adding stabilizers, and applying finishing touches.

    So if the fitting out of a 747 to AF1 specs (currently flying ones are VC-25A, the ones in current mod for 2027 delivery are VC-25B) takes (in this case) 9 years, it would likely take close to that to retrofit an operable one for that purpose. Just sayin’ this ain’t about saving money on repairs and maintenance of 2 35 year old AF1s. It’s about a grift. He complained yesterday about the cost of maintaining the 35 y.o. AF1s. Well hush my mouth. His 757 is (drumroll please) 34 years old. Coincidence I suppose. LMFAO

  20. “where a whole group of young people is growing up having no real sense”

    …why i have no nice predictions

  21. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-barasso-habeas-corpus-suspension_n_6821c1dce4b01f1185014868

    Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Sunday weighed in on the Trump administration’s efforts to suspend habeas corpus to advance its goal of ramping up deportations, saying he does not expect the issue to come before Congress.

    “I don’t believe this is going to come to Congress,” Barrasso said. “What I believe is the president is going to follow the law. He has said it repeatedly.”

    Congress is the only body with the power to suspend the writ, according to legal scholars.

    Habeas corpus has been suspended just four times since the Constitution was ratified…

    ~He believes Adolf is going to follow the law~

  22. And since I’m a little obsessed with the topic, WaPo has a piece today on teh security concerns this plane would pose.

    The White House official said Qatar offered to “donate a plane to the Department of Defense,” but that the gift would not be accepted by Trump this week during his visit to the country. Trump departed Monday on his first major foreign trip, which will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
    The president’s jet has a raft of security, communications and support requirements that are highly classified and have proven costly and cumbersome.

    “This is a flying nuclear-hardened command post,” said a former U.S. official with knowledge of Air Force One operations. “It has to have secure capability at multiple levels.” The Air Force would have to “rip” open and rebuild the Qatari plane — which has been flown for years in service of other countries and individuals — to bring it up to standard, said the official.

    Counterintelligence is also a concern, said former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. “We would have to be sure nobody had planted bugs on the airplane,” he said.

    High-end communications have to be protected from jamming, cyberattacks and nuclear blasts, current and former officials said.
    “You’d pretty much have to take that plane down to the skeleton and put it back together,” said Mac Plihcik, a retired Secret Service agent who worked on President Barack Obama’s detail. “The security of every individual component is a big deal.”

    Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service agent who was a supervisor in Trump’s first administration, said rigorous inspections are performed after all presidential transport vehicles leave the production line. The gifting of a plane from a foreign government would probably warrant an even harder look, Eckloff said.

    “They’re going to walk that thing inch to inch and say, ‘Does this nut belong here, does this bolt belong here?’” Eckloff said.

    Trump can waive any of this due diligence, Kendall said. “He’s the commander in chief. The only way he’s going to be flying on this airplane while he’s in office is if he waives a lot of these requirements.”

    The guy who spilled secrets to Russian guys in the Oval Office would waive those security measures in a heartbeat to be able to fly on …

    …a plane that is outfitted for an emir,” said Garrett Graff, a historian who has written about presidential security, referring to the Qatari jet. The president would likely balk at dismantling some of the luxurious accommodations on board and replacing them with government-issued equipment, said Graff, who described the gift as a counterintelligence nightmare. Trump, he noted, has signaled his interest in the plane since February, giving adversary intelligence services months to figure out ways to penetrate it.

    … that is a two-story flying palace outfitted with cream colored leather seats and no doubt all the comforts required by Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani , who certainly doesn’t fly business class.

  23. https://wfin.com/fox-political-news/house-republicans-unveil-new-food-stamp-work-requirements-for-trumps-big-beautiful-bill/

    House Republicans unveil new food stamp work requirements for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

    The portion released on Monday night would raise the upper age limit for work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), from certain able-bodied adults up to age 54 to those up to age 64.

    Whereas the current rules exempt people with dependents under age 18, the new provision would now include SNAP recipients with children above age 7 who otherwise qualify for work requirements.

    *So, work until you drop, and if you have kids over age 7, leave them home alone.

    ~Pro-life~
    ~Pro-family~

    *If you don’t contribute to capitalism, you starve.

    Definitely not WJWD

  24. “What I believe is the president is going to follow the law. He has said it repeatedly.”

    And this won’t be at all difficult since the law is now whatever Dodo says it is.

  28. He also said he’s cut healthcare 50 to 90 percent, and that’s why drug prices will come down.

    FFS! He has zero idea how anything works. His brain is mush.

  31. Pogo
    Here is a guitar for you.
    3 strings on a shovel. But man can that guy get a lot of music out of 3 strings.

  33. https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5295706-republican-bill-blocks-states-ai-regulations/

    A Republican tax bill released late Sunday seeks to block states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) models for the next 10 years.

    The bill text from the House Energy and Commerce Committee would bar states from enforcing laws or regulations governing AI models, AI systems or automated decision systems.

    *So, not “kicking it back to the states on this one.”

  36. “Dumbass must not be wearing his lifts”

    pogo, noticeably shrinking these days. his old lifts were made in younger days. probably still wears them but his spine just normally aging.

  37. 👑 CUMIN IS LAW.
    Our latest spice sermon just dropped—long live the king of chili.
    Also featuring: salt rants, pickle dust, and cardamom vapor therapy.
    🌶️ Full chaos here:

  38. And now — the anger: Trying to defeat Donald Trump in just 107 days was a “fucking nightmare,” admits Harris campaign adviser David Plouffe, who appears to have gone on the record in Thompson and Tapper’s book to make his anger crystal clear. “And it’s all Biden,” Plouffe adds. “He totally fucked us.”

    No, it was Mitch and the Republican Party and the Supreme Court who have totally fucked the entire country and the world. Donald Trump should never in the universe of evers have been anywhere but a jail cell, let alone on anyone’s ticket for the presidency. I’m reserving my anger and outrage for those bastards.

    https://www.politico.com/playbook

  39. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/rep-chuck-edwards-accused-of-hitting-man-at-rotary-club-event

    Rep. Chuck Edwards Accused Of Hitting Man At Rotary Club Event

    “He got into an argument at one of the tables with another Rotarian and Chuck got upset and hit the guy with a binder and said ‘love you man’ as he walked out,” said a Rotarian, who requested anonymity so as not to jeopardize his relationship with the organization.

    “The guy he hit called the police and claimed he was assaulted,” the emailer continued.

    But what actually happened and who was the aggressor has remained the subject of mystery and plenty of rumors.

  41. Cumin is like peanuts. If you put one peanut in something, it’ll all have a peanut flavor. I like cumin, but I’ve seen recipes adding it where it would surely cast a shadow over the other ingredients. Nutmeg only belongs in desserts. Restaurants love to add nutmeg to spinach/ricotta dishes. Nope and nope. Totally agree about over-salting dishes in restaurants.

  43. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5298336-protestors-medicaid-arrested/

    Capitol Police arrest more than 25 as Medicaid activists interrupt committee

    Minutes into the markup, activists — including several in wheelchairs — chanted “no cuts to Medicaid,” persisting despite a warning from Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) that those making outbursts could be arrested.

    *Arresting folks in wheelchairs isn’t good optics, but doubtful the legacy media will show it, and they certainly won’t talk about cuts.

  45. Disgusting to have Adolf praising the Saudi who had a journalist dismembered.

    Disrespectful to salute their military members in a country where almost 3,000 US military were killed, too.

    Saudis Arabia’s involvement in 9/11 must’ve slipped his mind.

  46. I am going with Journalism again. Running a wet track in the Derby was a training session for the Preakness.

    For those not following Baltimore news, this is the last race session at the original Preakness. It is going to be torn down and a completely new Preakness is being built.

  47. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2025/05/12/in-florida-ice-raids-mass-deportation-new-normal-officials-say/83580555007/

    Florida officials called Operation Tidal Wave, where over 1,000 migrants were detained in five days, the “new normal.” And not just for the Sunshine State, but for the rest of the country.

    Within the next 60 days, the federal government will attempt to put into practice an approach to mass deportation that’s “strikingly similar” to Operation Tidal Wave, said Larry Keefe, executive director of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, at a press conference in Tampa May 12.

    At the lectern, Keefe showed off a 37-page document that he called the “Florida blueprint” to mass deportation. The State of Florida Immigration Enforcement Operations Plan, he said, will be the “prototype.”

    *Perhaps, a “final solution,” as it were.

  48. From link above:

    On May 9, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that established “Project Homecoming”: “Either leave the United States voluntarily, with the support and financial assistance of the Federal Government, or remain and face the consequences,” the proclamation states.

    And the proclamation states that, on July 8, the Secretary of Homeland Security “shall supplement existing enforcement and removal operations by deputizing and contracting with State and local law enforcement officers, former Federal officers, officers and personnel within other Federal agencies, and other individuals to increase the enforcement and removal operations force of the Department of Homeland Security by no less than 20,000 officers in order to conduct an intensive campaign to remove illegal aliens who have failed to depart voluntarily.”

    *Nazis! Republicans are Nazis!

  49. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/13/photos-tech-ceos-mingle-with-trump-and-mbs-at-saudi-investment-forum.html

    Tech CEOs mingle with Trump and Saudi Crown Prince at investment forum in Riyadh

    Saudi Arabia is investing $600 billion in the U.S., a package the White House said would boost “energy security, defense industry, technology leadership, and access to global infrastructure and critical minerals.”

    The White House also touted a nearly $142 billion deal to provide Saudi Arabia with weapons and services from U.S. defense firms.

    Nvidia
    CEO Jensen Huang announced a deal to provide the kingdom its high-end AI Blackwell chips.

    Tesla
    CEO Elon Musk and Amazon
    CEO Andy Jassy were among the attendees, as well as other high-profile executives and power players such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Alphabet
    President Ruth Porat, IBM
    CEO Arvind Krishna, Palantir
    CEO Alex Karp and Qualcomm
    CEO Cristiano Amon.

  52. BiD, didn’t dumbass say he saw Muslims dancing on the rooftops in New Jersey?

    Jamie, I’ll go for American Promise (it seems to be fast slipping away and I don’t want to run the risk of missing it).

  53. Pimlico officially opened in the October 25, 1870, with the colt Preakness winning the first running of the Dinner Party Stakes. Approximately 12,000 people attended, many taking special race trains arranged by the Northern Central Railway. Three years later the horse would have the 1873 Preakness Stakes named in his honor. The track is also noted as the home for the match race in which Seabiscuit beat War Admiral in the second Pimlico Special, on November 1, 1938, before a crowd of 43,000. The capacity of the stadium is 98,983.

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

  54. If you want to give the you tube algo a nervous breakdown and listen to enjoyable music.
    Copied from the video description:

    “a playful commingling of West African grooves, Korean folk melodies, and minimalist electronics, eprformed entirely on homemade instruments” – Bandcamp – “sortie digne de mention”
    “Using only 100% homemade instruments, these virtuosos have created an album of playful, meditative and thrilling compositions,,,”. Radio Alhara

  57. What’s stopping Dodo from having a massive reputational meltdown moment like the one poor Bill Belichick is having?

  58. I saw the interview when it originally aired that Sunday morning. It was an unmitigated disaster.

  59. Wondering how many rural clinics and hospitals will close when then cut Medicaid.

    AOC said Republicans were pointing to 1 million undocumented on Medicaid (questionable), so why are they cutting 7 to 13 million off Medicaid?

    And why, if you get kicked off of Medicaid, are you prohibited from buy ACA insurance in accordance with this big, bad bill?

  60. The rhubarb is bolting, again. It’s the heat. We had a hot spell the last time it happened.

  61. During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) blocked a bill that would require the Senate Legal Counsel to file a lawsuit to enforce the Emoluments Clause as President Trump appears poised to accept a $400 million gifted 747 plane from the Qatari Royal Family.

  62. just cut at the base

    try the inverted container trick

    you could also move it

  64. https://www.rawstory.com/omaha-trump/

    Democrats in the liberal enclave in a conservative state are hoping to unseat Omaha’s three-term Republican mayor, Jean Stothert, in a technically nonpartisan election. But anger over Trump’s agenda has fueled closer-than-expected results in special elections for GOP-held seats in Florida and a decisive victory for Democrats in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, reported the Washington Post.

    *WE HAVE ANOTHER WINNER! The next mayor of Omaha will be a Dem! Over a decade with a Republican mayor, but it flipped blue!

  65. Mr. Ivy’s commentary on the Shovel Guitar guy:

    This guy knows how to build a guitar and for about 500 bucks you can buy one on Etsy. The science behind this amazing…you don’t just stick a couple strings on a shovel and it’s gonna play. Probably took him years to figure it out sonically. Then you have to learn not only the tuning but how to play a slide. Really a feat of creativity of all manner.

    (Thanks, Jack)

  66. Bid
    According to this article from Purdue U There can be a number of reasons for bolting, prolonged temps over 90 being one, But poor soil and stress can cause it also. If this was a recent transplant it could have been stressed. If so then I would follow their instructions of pinching off the flower head everytime it sends one up. The article says it will eventually stop. Then I would let it grow and not plan any harvest this year. It will develop a stronger root system and be that more productive next year.
    Jaxk

  68. Very interesting pastiche video of Justin Johnson. Excellent throwback blues fingerpicking player. I could easily see him playing Terra Blues in NYC and wowing the crowd.

  69. Looks like there may have been a small spinal bone graft in Congress.

    In rare move, Congress pushes back on Trump over Library of Congress

    Lawmakers are raising separation-of-powers concerns as the White House seeks to install a Justice Department official at the legislative-branch institution.

    In a rare bipartisan effort to defend its institutional authority, Congress is quietly resisting President Donald Trump’s attempt to assert control over the Library of Congress — a move that experts say threatens the separation of powers and the integrity of the legislative branch’s premier research body.
    Pushing back on Trump’s designation of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting librarian, lawmakers said Tuesday that control of the institution remains with its top career official, Robert R. Newlen. Newlen told staff at the library that he is the acting head, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.
    The president installed Blanche — a close Trump ally and his former defense attorney — as the acting head of the library just days after he abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the first woman and African American to serve as librarian of Congress, on Friday, nine years into her 10-year term.

    [Continues]

    WaPo

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