Weekend Musick Merriment

Today's artist and her musical selections are best explained by Emma Taggart in My Modern Met:

You’ve likely heard acoustic versions of your favorite tunes, but have you ever heard cover songs remixed to sound as if they’re from a completely different era? Singer Hildegard von Blingin’ transforms well-known hits—such as Creep, Bad Romance, and What Is Love—into medieval-style ballads. She describes the genre as, “Bardcore for the discerning clergyman, noble, or muck-gathering peasant.”

The name Hildegard von Blingin’ is a playful take on the 12th-century abbess and composer Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Demonstrating a similar flair for poetic language, Von Blingin’ reworks the lyrics of classic pop songs into olde English verses...

To hear this beautiful voice and her era- appropriate lyrics and musical accompaniment is to be both charmed and amused.

Here's "Hildegard von Blingin's" version (with "Friar Funk") of Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" (their original here for comparison):



Now, Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" (original here for comparison):



Her YouTube page has several more that should verily delight thee.

How (Fill In Republican-Run State) Lost Control Of Coronavirus

Look at this chart and see if you can identify a common denominator (click to enlarge):

(Source: Washington Post, 6/26/20)

If you said "Republican governance," you're likely a faithful reader of this blog (or maybe just read the header).

Arizona is the current hot spot (with Texas and Florida in close pursuit), so let's take a quick look at how the government of Trumpy Republican Gov. Doug Ducey lost control of the pandemic:

... [P]hysicians, public health experts, advocates and local officials say the crisis was predictable in Arizona, where local ordinances requiring masks were forbidden until Gov. Doug Ducey (R) reversed course last week. State leaders did not take the necessary precautions or model safe behavior, these observers maintain, even in the face of compelling evidence and repeated pleas from authoritative voices.

“We have failed on so many levels,” said Dana Marie Kennedy, the Arizona director of AARP, who said her organization has yet to receive a response to four letters outlining concerns to the governor. She is working on a fifth. [snip]

At critical junctures, blunders by top officials undermined faith in the data purportedly driving decision-making, according to experts monitoring Arizona’s response. And when forbearance was most required, as the state began to reopen despite continued community transmission, an abrupt and uniform approach — without transparent benchmarks or latitude for stricken areas to hold back — led large parts of the public to believe the pandemic was over.

And now, Arizona is facing more per capita cases than recorded by any country in Europe or even by hard-hit Brazil. Among states with at least 20 people hospitalized for covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, no state has seen its rate of hospitalizations increase more rapidly since Memorial Day.  (our emphasis)

Arizona, like Texas and Florida and other states in the Sun Belt, has its share of loud Trump- led Covidiots, willing to politicize a health emergency:

...[R]esistance to health precautions remains pronounced. At an anti-mask rally Wednesday, a member of the Scottsdale City Council, Republican Guy Phillips, shouted the dying words of George Floyd — “I can’t breathe” — before ripping off his mask, enlisting a rallying cry of the nationwide protests against racial injustice to inveigh against face coverings that reduce airborne transmission of tiny droplets. Hours later, he issued an apology “to anyone who became offended.”  (our emphasis)

These knuckle- draggers and the knuckle- draggers that cheer them have tied the precautionary and effective practice of mask- wearing to a threat to their Constitutional rights and freedumb! because it's the message they've received from the mask- less Covidiot- in- chief and his sycophants, who want everybody back to work and shopping, to hell with the cost.  So, in Arizona, and elsewhere, people elected to look out for the common good ended up prematurely and  shortsightedly looking out for the business community's bottom line, while trying desperately to please the Covidiot- in- chief:

Ducey’s original order reopening the state — and preventing local officials from setting their own rules despite mounting evidence about the benefits of masks and social distancing — was in keeping with a top-down approach to governance that critics say has characterized his tenure. In 2017, he signed a bill approved by the Republican-controlled legislature that allowed any state legislator to direct the Arizona attorney general to investigate a local regulation for a possible violation of state law. Consequences included potentially losing revenue from the state.

“The biggest challenge has been Governor Ducey tying the hands of mayors and county health departments,” said Regina Romero, the Democratic mayor of Tucson, who said she weighed an emergency proclamation mandating masks in mid-March but was advised against it by her city attorney. Her city’s budget is about $566 million, Romero said, more than a fifth of which comes from the state.  (our emphasis)

The full article is a good read and, with minor variations, tells a story that could be told of late closing and too- early opening blunders by Republican governors in other states now seeing spikes.

BONUS:  And no, don't let anyone "both sides" this --

Don't bothsides this pandemic. America's epic, lethal fail was driven by the fecklessness of an anti-science party that didn't want to face reality https://t.co/mYAz77G3IJ

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) June 26, 2020

BONUS II:  The Government Accountability Office weighs in --

New independent GAO report on Trump admin response to COVID is out. Lemme break it down for you:

Trump f*cked up bad.

He is still doing so.

And he will continue to do so as long as he is in office.

My biggest takeaway? Vote!https://t.co/9wH4woaHgr

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 26, 2020

BONUS III:  What a difference a competent leader would have made--

Eight months ago yesterday. https://t.co/1XzAvx7daa

— Bill Russo (@BillR) June 26, 2020

 

Trump Bungles Softball Propaganda Show

Last night's incoherent "interview" of narcissistic buffoon and sociopath Donald "Bunker Boy" Trump and his erotic massage therapist Sean "Heil" Hannity produced some eye-opening goofs by the Twitler himself. For example, when asked what would be his second term priorities, Trump didn't have a clue:

“'Well one of the things that will be really great, you know, the word ‘experience’ is still good,' Trump said. 'I always say talent is more important than experience. I’ve always said that. But the word experience is a very important word. It’s a very important meaning.'

'I never did this before, I never slept over in Washington,' Trump elaborated. 'I was in Washington I think 17 times, all of a sudden I’m the president of the United States, you know the story, I’m riding down Pennsylvania Avenue with our First Lady and I say, ‘This is great.’ But I didn’t know very many people in Washington, it wasn’t my thing. I was from Manhattan, from New York. Now I know everybody. And I have great people in the administration.'

'You make some mistakes, like you know an idiot like Bolton,' Trump continued, then wandered off with Hannity on a digression about his former national security adviser."

Someone who rambles like that without focus has no business talking about former VP Joe Biden's "slipping mentally." Trump could have said "expanded Executive time" or "golfing five days a week" and it would have been credible. A hint that Trump's contemplating defeat was contained in a line that started out attacking Biden:

"The man can’t speak. And he is going to be president because some people don’t love me maybe because all I’m doing is doing my job.” (our emphasis)

"Don't love me maybe..." is the understatement of the week. Don't love him by double digits, which has him freaking out and grasping for culture war issues like Confederate statue protection. Now there's a priority for a second term he'll never have.

(image: Did he just soil himself? Screenshot from Trump / Hannity interview)

Lenin $29,000*, Karen 0

There are so many "Karen" stories these days, those where privileged white women are exercising their presumed entitlement to confront black and Latinos with offensive remarks. This story from San Diego illustrates that broadcasting your sense of entitlement in the midst of a pandemic may not be the best idea:

"Amber Lynn Gilles walked into a Starbucks in San Diego without a mask and was declined service, according to a Facebook post on her page. She took a photograph of the barista who didn’t serve her, posted it and wrote:

'Meet lenen [sic] from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.'”

Culture warrior and COVID-19 spreader Gilles was "cursing up a storm" according to bystanders. Gilles thought she was going to start a movement, and she did, just not the one she expected. After posting her defiant rant on Facebook, others took action to support barista Lenin Gutierrez, who had refused to serve the mask free Gilles, on a GoFundMe page:

"That’s when Matt Cowan, a man who doesn’t know Gutierrez but stumbled upon the post, decided to start a virtual tip jar for the barista on GoFundMe. 

Cowan called the donation page 'Tips for Lenin Standing Up To A San Diego Karen.' In the description, he wrote, 'Raising money for Lenin for his honorable effort standing his ground when faced with a Karen in the wild.' 

Cowan said he never expected to reach more than $1,000. But in just three days, the total amount is more than $28,000, and it continues to increase by the hour." (our emphasis)

Lenin was doing the right thing for his customers, including "Karen" Gilles, who would rather pick up or transmit a dose of COVID-19 than wear a damn mask. If there's an "employee of the year" at his Starbucks, he's it.

BONUS: Another bigoted "Karen" is offended by kids writing "Black Lives Matter" in the sand on a South Carolina beach, and, after exposing herself to them, is arrested for indecent exposure (and attempted blinding?)
_____________
* and growing

Judge Tosses Suit To Stop Trump Niece's Book

A judge in Queens County, New York has dismissed a suit filed by the brother of corrupt sociopath Donald "Rump" Trump to block the publication of a tell-all book by Dr. Mary Trump, Trump's niece. Robert Trump had filed the suit in Queens County Surrogate Court, and since the matter deals with a 2001 deposition of the deceased Trump patriarch Fred Trump, it no longer had jurisdiction. Judge Peter Kelly suggested to Trump's apparently inept lawyers that the suit be entered in the New York State Supreme Court.

Dr. Trump, a psychologist, has written a book entitled "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man", about her mentally unstable uncle Donald and the dysfunctional family that spawned him and his pathologies. Dr. Trump, who allegedly signed a nondisclosure agreement, has the advantage of being both a trained clinical psychologist and a close family member who witnessed the interactions and dealings of her uncle, his brothers and other relatives. Trump and his brother's attempt to stop publication of the book is an indicator of how embarrassing and harmful the details in the book are, although we've learned so much already about the monster in the Oval Office we may be incapable of shock.

(photo: Seething, always seething...)

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer)


(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ)
 
(Stuart Carlson, gocomics.com)


(Tom Toles, Washington Post)


(David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Daily Star)
 
(Tom Janssen, Trouw, Netherlands)


(Steve Breen, San Diego Union-Tribune)


(Kevin Kallaugher, Counterpoint)
 
(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)


(Chris Britt, gocomics.com)


(Michael de Adder, Counterpoint)


(Ken Catalino, gocomics.com)


(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)


(Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

The Pyromaniac In Chief

We know that malignant narcissist and sociopath Donald "The Chosen One" Trump loves big parades and celebrations as long as they're about him. Many cynical world leaders have staged parades and ceremonies hoping to curry favor by stroking his damaged ego. He's desperately wanted a massive Bastille Day-style military parade in Washington, D.C. ever since France's Emmanuel Macron invited him to their celebration in 2017.

Now, the buffoon is looking forward to being the guest at a July 3 celebration at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. He wants his cult members to think that he belongs up there with those honored Presidents in his delusional mind. The problem is that a massive fireworks display is scheduled for Trump, and that poses a major wildfire hazard for the area (not to mention the continued pandemic):

"President Trump is planning a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite a decade-long ban on pyrotechnics at the iconic spot because of concerns about public health, environmental and safety risks. 

Trump has wanted to stage fireworks at the national memorial in South Dakota’s Black Hills since 2018, according to two individuals familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. But the idea was scuttled or delayed by a number of his advisers, these individuals said." (our emphasis)

So why the change?  Well, it's an election year, and apparently Trump pressured the National Park Service and South Dakota's Rethuglican Governor and Trumper Kristi Noem to pretend that the problem of wildfires have been taken care of:

"Ian Fury [are you kidding?], a spokesman for South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R), said in an email that the National Park Service had concluded the event will not harm the environment and conducted a controlled burn earlier this month to reduce brush that could fuel a wildfire. 

'We are confident that the Rushmore Fireworks celebration can be conducted safely,' Fury said, adding that organizers are monitoring weather forecasts. The Interior Department has positioned firefighting resources at the site, according to a senior department official."

So they're so confident that they're positioning firefighting resources there, because with Trump stuff happens. And the coughing from the smoke should help with coronavirus spread among his cultists stupid enough to go. This time, if there's a fire, it'll be about more than Trump.

(Image: DonkeyHotey)

Postal Service's Health And The 2020 Elections

It's a political axiom that Rethuglicans win when voter turnout is suppressed. That's why they put enormous energy into closing polling stations in Democratic districts, establishing ID requirements that are best met by older white voters, restricting early voting, and other tactics meant to reduce the Democratic vote. Their latest crusade, led by their cult leader and Kremlin asset Donald "COVID Donnie" Trump, is to sabotage the U.S. mail system to undermine voters' ability to vote by mail, despite its overwhelming public support in the midst of a worsening pandemic. Numerous states have "no excuse" absentee ballot provisions; some conduct elections almost entirely by mail. Of course, Trump has recently voted by mail in Florida, something that doesn't keep him from trying to deny that ability to others.

Trump has frequently railed against the Postal Service losing money, supposedly for it's low rates on packages for big shippers like Amazon, despite the fact that shipping packages are the Postal Service's biggest money generator. Some see typical Trump vindictiveness:

"....critics say Trump is merely looking to punish Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in retaliation for unflattering coverage in The Washington Post, which the billionaire Bezos also owns."

More and more, however, Trump sees the Postal Service as an enemy combatant in his re-election bid, since voting by mail is viewed by him as a threat:

"Trump has acknowledged larger political calculations are at work, tweeting that expanding vote by mail will “LEAD TO THE END OF OUR GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY.” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has suggested the Republican president’s opposition to absentee voting and criticism of the Postal Service may help him “steal” the election." (our emphasis)

The main reason the Postal Service is struggling financially goes back to a Rethuglican legislative mandate aimed at eventually privatizing it, namely that the Postal Service fund its retiree health benefits for 75 years, something that no other enterprise is required to do. Trump has threatened to veto any relief for the Postal Service, even if it's tied to COVID-19 economic relief. That's how fearful he is of mail-in voting. That's why Dems need to do everything they can to thwart him and support the Postal Service now and going forward.

Another 1.5 Million Added To Unemployment Rolls; Coronavirus Rages

The pain and misery caused by a narcissistic buffoon continues:

More than three months into the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S., countless Americans are still unemployed. According to the U.S. Labor Department, weekly initial jobless claims data showed yet another week of claims exceeding 1 million.

Another 1.48 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 20, exceeding economists’ expectations for 1.32 million. The prior week’s figure was revised higher to 1.54 million from the previously reported 1.51 million claims. While last week’s report marked 12 consecutive weeks of deceleration, more than 47 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance over the past 14 weeks. (our emphasis)

Once again, a bungled response to a pandemic by an unfit sub- moron caused the economy to largely shut down.  Shuttered businesses, some gone forever;  people losing their livelihoods, homes, etc.;  and a Republican Senate unwilling to extend enhanced unemployment benefits beyond July 31. And, to be sure, the pain is far from over because the response continues to be bungled:

You see that dip? That’s everyone staying home trying to buy time for a test-and-trace program that never happened because we elected a buffoon. https://t.co/1PMXOzTkiD

— Matt Goldberg (@MattGoldberg) June 24, 2020

 

So McConnell rushed to prop up the economy long enough for the donor class to get their finances in order while doing nothing about pandemic response and is now letting it all go to hell?

— Schooley (@Rschooley) June 25, 2020

 

There were 37,000 new coronavirus cases in the US yesterday, a horrifying record.

Meanwhile: https://t.co/3lCsgNN34a

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) June 25, 2020

 

QOTD -- The Moment And The Man

Jon Stewart, appearing on The Late Show, on this moment in American life:

“In some respects, I wonder if the pandemic, because we all went into kind of a stasis, and the distractions of your daily life were removed, that it allowed the country a moment of clarity.  It’s almost like in this moment of more quiet reflection, America suddenly stopped and smelled the racism, do you know what I mean?"

On Joe Biden:

“What I think in this moment this country needs is a leader of humility, that understands that he doesn't understand, that understands the humanity of this experiment and the difficulty that it is in maintaining it, and that we have to connect with each other on a much deeper level without the bullshit. And it gives me hope that that can bring about—that maybe he is the man of the moment.”

The Arctic's On Fire & Pardon The Dust

We've justifiably been focused on the multiple outrages of the flailing, malignant con man occupying the Oval Office these days, but there's a whole world outside that's trying to get our attention.

The Associated Press reports that the Russian region north of the Arctic Circle is in the grip of unprecedented heat:

"The thermometer hit a likely record of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Russian Arctic town of Verkhoyansk on Saturday, a temperature that would be a fever for a person — but this is Siberia, known for being frozen. The World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that it’s looking to verify the temperature reading, which would be unprecedented for the region north of the Arctic Circle.

'The Arctic is figuratively and literally on fire — it’s warming much faster than we thought it would in response to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and this warming is leading to a rapid meltdown and increase in wildfires,' University of Michigan environmental school dean Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist, said in an email.

'The record warming in Siberia is a warning sign of major proportions,' Overpeck wrote. (our emphasis)

This heatwave follows a winter and spring of abnormally high temperatures, which have sparked massive wildfires across Siberia.

In another natural development, a massive dust cloud originating over the Sahara desert is making its way across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.  Candace Wang at Popular Science explains why this year, the plume is different from previous years:

"This month’s dust cloud is more resilient than usual—its dust is so opaque and thick that it can be clearly seen from the International Space Station, while its predecessors have been ghostly and faint from space. [snip]

These dust plumes, called the Saharan Air Layer (or SAL) are born when severe wind storms strike the Sahara. Entering the Atlantic Ocean at the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the plumes catch on to the trade winds, which run east-west along the equator.

The dust is already covering Caribbean skies, and Gulf Coast states like Texas and Louisiana should expect to confront this vast cloud on Wednesday and Thursday."

Wang lists five impacts to expect, some bad some good:

-  The dust will aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma (just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic); 

- The dust plume will muffle hurricanes and tropical storms in the Caribbean; 

-  Skies will become more colorful due to the dust; 

-  The dust will help fertilize the Amazon basin with nutrients, and 

-  The Bahamas' ecosystem have likewise benefited from the dust that brings nutrients to its marine and coral life.

 For people in the area affected, get your masks and cameras out.

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)


(Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
 
(Ed Hall, Artizans.com)


(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)


(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)


(Tim Campbell, Washington Post Writers Group)


(Andy Marlette, Pensacola News-Journal, FL)


(Marc Murphy, Louisville Courier-Journal, KY)


(Rob Rogers, robrogers.com)


(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)


(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)


(Matt Davies, Newsday)


(Tom Toles, Washington Post)


(Steve Benson, The Arizona Mirror)

Mid-Week Song

The U.S. - British group Fleetwood Mac enjoyed a decade of pop rock hits starting in the 1970s. The turmoil within the band itself -- artistic differences and failed relationships -- were in part the catalyst for some of their greatest songs.  1976's "Go Your Own Way", their first number one hit, was an angry break- up song penned by guitarist / vocalist Lindsey Buckingham about his girlfriend / bandmate Stevie Nicks. On top of that, bandmates John McVie and Christine McVie had just divorced, and the band's namesake and powerful drummer, Mick Fleetwood, had just broken up with his wife. So the bad relationship "vibes" produced one of the great rock songs of the decade. Fleetwood turns 73 today, so a "happy birthday" to him, and drum on through the strife!

Biden Lead Grows -- Let's Keep It Growing!

Democrat Joe Biden has surged to a dominant 14- point lead in the highly respected New York Times Upshot/ Siena College poll:



The New York Times notes:

...[A]mong a striking cross-section of voters, the distaste for Mr. Trump has deepened as his administration failed to stop a deadly disease that crippled the economy and then as he responded to a wave of racial-justice protests with angry bluster and militaristic threats. The dominant picture that emerges from the poll is of a country ready to reject a president whom a strong majority of voters regard as failing the greatest tests confronting his administration.

Mr. Biden leads Mr. Trump by enormous margins with black and Hispanic voters, and women and young people appear on track to choose Mr. Biden by an even wider margin than they favored Hillary Clinton over Mr. Trump in 2016. But the former vice president has also drawn even with Mr. Trump among male voters, whites and people in middle age and older — groups that have typically been the backbones of Republican electoral success, including Mr. Trump’s in 2016. (our emphasis)

That last demographic trend is a measure of Trump's base showing signs of, at long last, eroding:

Extraordinary findings from the new Upshot poll:

Biden +21 with independents

Biden +29 with college educated whites

Biden +39 with college ed white women

Trump only +19 w/non-college whites (Trump won them by 36 in 2016)

Biden +2 among seniors (Trump won them by 9 in 2016)

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) June 24, 2020

 
The findings generally comport with other major polls, most recently the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll:

Former Vice President Joe Biden doubled his lead over President Trump to 12 points as voters expressed disapproval with the Trump administration's handling of the coronavirus, racial tensions and the economy, according to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll survey released exclusively to The Hill.

Fifty-six percent of likely voters said they would vote for Biden if the election was held today, while 44 percent said they would back Trump, wider than the Democrat's 6-point lead in the same poll last month.

The poll is in line with recent national surveys showing Trump losing ground, including in battleground states that will determine the election, as voters sour on his responses to several crises hitting the country, including most recently the nationwide protests after the police killing of George Floyd.

Let's be confident, but not stupidly so. This is not 2016.  It's looking more like the 2018 blue wave on steroids;  but we need to remember that nothing can be taken for granted, no matter how good the polls look 4 or 5 months out:

NYT/Siena poll (Biden +14), like Fox (Biden +12) & CNN (Biden +14) show a country where majority has made up its mind to reject the incumbent. Issue now is whether Trump can change anyone’s mind or will just try to discredit the election.

— David Lauter (@DavidLauter) June 24, 2020

Keep calm and vote.

BONUS:  One more poll, this one from Duval County (Jacksonville), FL, a county that has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1980:

🚨NEW POLL of Duval County, FL from RVAT/@RABAResearch:

- By a 10 point margin Jacksonville voters do NOT want the GOP convention.

- 61% are concerned about a virus outbreak.

- Biden leads 51%-43% in a county Trump won in 2016:

Full results: https://t.co/NRpRsuvxGP

— Republican Voters Against Trump (@RVAT2020) June 22, 2020

 

BREAKING: Republican Judges Order Flynn Case To Be Dropped

The Lord of the Ramp reaps the benefit of Moscow Mitch's stacking the federal courts:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan dismiss Michael Flynn’s case.

The majority opinion was written by Judge Neomi Rao, an appointee of President Trump. Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee and the only Democratic-appointed judge on the three judge appellate panel, dissented.

Flynn had asked the appeals court to intervene when, instead of immediately granting the Justice Department’s request to drop the case, Sullivan appointed an outside party to oppose the dismissal request as a friend of the court.

Rao said that such “inquiry” into the Justice Department’s reasons for wanting to dismiss the case was not “justified.”

Why inquire about the corrupt intent of William "Low" Barr's DOJ in deep- sixing the prosecution of Lord of the Ramp's crony and Russian contact point Michael Flynn who, after all, pleaded guilty to the charges multiple times!?  What's "justified" is for rotted- out Republicans to circle the wagons and stick together!

The 2-1 split decision could make an appeal to the full D.C. Circuit and/or ultimately to the Supreme Court a strong possibility.

Are any more reasons needed to take out the trash on November 3?

Quick reactions:

Neomi Rao does not just say "sorry, this is what the law requires." She goes ALL IN on the Trump administration's theory of the case, condemning Judge Sullivan's "unprecedented intrusions on individual liberty" and chastising him for daring to "prob[e] the
government’s motives."

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 24, 2020

 

I would expect to see a move to en banc (have all active judges on the DC Circuit hear the case). This ruling sets a precedent that says even in cases of bad faith by DOJ, federal courts have no discretion to refuse a request to dismiss a prosecution. https://t.co/tTU4kAEDj2

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) June 24, 2020

  

Astonishing barely begins to describe this travesty. En banc review seems mandatory. https://t.co/lclPkOPvtR

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) June 24, 2020

 

(Photo:  Neomi Rao -- the "Honorable" part is a joke.)