The Conversation -- June 20, 2025
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Friday ordered that Mahmoud Khalil be released on bail, a ruling that could end the monthslong imprisonment of the first pro-Palestinian campus protester detained by the Trump administration. Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent U.S. resident, has spent 104 days in detention, watching as other students targeted by the administration won favorable rulings and were released on bail.... But his lawyers slowly chipped away at the government's case, and on Friday they convinced the judge, Michael E. Farbiarz of Federal District Court in Newark, that there was reason to believe Mr. Khalil's detention represented unlawful retaliation for his role in demonstrations on Columbia's Manhattan campus. Toward the end of a two-hour hearing, Judge Farbiarz said there was 'at least something' to the argument that there had been 'an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish Mr. Khalil....And, of course, that would be unconstitutional....'...
"The Louisiana judge in his immigration case, Jamee Comans, denied [Mr. Khalil] asylum and ruled that he could be deported based on another of the government's allegations, a ruling that Mr. Khalil will have an opportunity to appeal. Judge Comans also denied him a bail hearing. In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, Tricia McLaughlin, said Judge Farbiarz did not have the authority to direct Mr. Khalil's release. The claim appears to be false as the law is currently understood: District judges have ordered the release of other noncitizens detained while going through immigration proceedings. But Ms. McLaughlin's assertion could signal that the government does not intend to release Mr. Khalil on Friday as ordered." The AP's report is here. ~~~
⭐~~~ Update. New NYT Lede: "Mahmoud Khalil, the first pro-Palestinian campus protester detained by the Trump administration, was released on bail Friday after a judge ordered an end to his monthslong imprisonment. Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent U.S. resident, had been held for 104 days, watching as other students targeted by the administration won favorable rulings and were released on bail. He was denied the opportunity to be present when his wife gave birth to their son in April and he missed his graduation from Columbia." MB: It's about time. ~~~
~~~ Maybe, as he claims, Marco Rubio is afraid of this young man. It's not easy to see why: ~~~
Rebecca Shabad & Nnamdi Egwuonwu of NBC News: "Vice President JD Vance bashed Democrats at the state, local and national levels Friday during his visit to Los Angeles, accusing top California officials of encouraging violent protesters and Sen. Alex Padilla, whom he referred to as 'José Padilla,' of engaging in 'political theater.' 'I was hoping José Padilla would be here to ask a question. But, unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater, and that's all it is,' Vance said. 'It's pure political theater. These guys show up. They want to be captured on camera doing something.'" MB: Says Vance, as he is engaging in political theater. ~~~
~~~ Marie: JayDee and Alex Padilla were in the Senate together for two years (Jan. 2023 -- Jan. 2025). Vance is still the president of the Senate. So it's pretty hard for him to pretend he doesn't know Padilla's first name. Senators are on first-name bases with each other, even though they are more formal when delivering floor speeches. Labeling Alex Padilla "José" was a purposeful racist slur. It's disgusting.
Minho Kim of the New York Times: "The Trump administration sent layoff notices on Friday to more than 600 employees at Voice of America, a federally funded news organization that provides independent reporting to countries with limited press freedom. The layoffs, known as reductions in force, will shrink the staff count at the news organization to less than 200, around one-seventh of its head count at the beginning of 2025. They put Voice of America journalists and support staff on paid leave until they are let go on Sept. 1. The termination notices are the latest round of the Trump administration's attack on federally funded news networks, including Voice of America. In March..., [Donald] Trump accused the news group of spreading 'anti-American' and partisan 'propaganda,' calling it 'the voice of radical America.' He then signed an executive order that effectively called for dismantling of the news agency and put nearly all Voice of America reporters on paid leave, ceasing its news operations for the first time since its founding in 1942." Politico's report is here.
Bill Chappell of NPR: "A man who appeared at the door of Memphis Mayor Paul Young's home on Sunday night did so with the intent to kidnap the city's leader, according to the Memphis Police Department. Trenton Abston, 25, is now facing multiple criminal charges. The department said in a statement, that officers found a Taser, rope and duct tape in Abston's vehicle when they took him into custody. Abston 'jumped a wall leading into our subdivision' around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Young said in a statement posted on Instagram. He added that Abston then knocked on the door 'with gloves on ... and a nervous demeanor,' and then fled after no one answered the door."
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Israel/Iran, et al. The New York Times' live updates of the Israel/Iran war for today are here: "World leaders accelerated diplomatic efforts on Friday to end the Israel-Iran war, as Iran's top diplomat prepared to meet in Switzerland with senior European counterparts, and ... [Donald] Trump raised hopes of a truce. The renewed diplomatic push came as the sides continued to trade fire. Israel announced overnight strikes on missile factories and a research center linked to Iran's nuclear program, and Iran fired a ballistic missile early on Friday that damaged a residential street in southern Israel." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here: "Israel's defense minister warned on Thursday that the Israeli military would intensify its strikes on 'strategic targets' in Iran, after a barrage of Iranian missiles hit several locations, including a major hospital complex in southern Israel. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed that Iran had targeted Israeli military facilities near a hospital, according to the Fars news agency, an Iranian outlet affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, though it offered no evidence to support that. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the claim. The hospital, the Soroka Medical Center in the city of Beersheba, said it had sustained widespread damage...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ How Deep a Bunker Would a Bunker-Buster Bust if a Bunker-Buster Could Bust Bunkers? Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has suggested to defense officials it would make sense for the US to launch strikes against Iran only if the so-called 'bunker buster' bomb was guaranteed to destroy the critical uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Trump was told that dropping the GBU-57s, a 13.6-tonne (30,000lb) bomb would effectively eliminate Fordow but he does not appear to be fully convinced, the people said, and has held off authorizing strikes as he also awaits the possibility that the threat of US involvement would lead Iran to talks. The effectiveness of GBU-57s has been a topic of deep contention at the Pentagon since the start of Trump's term, according to two defense officials who were briefed that perhaps only a tactical nuclear weapon could be capable of destroying Fordow because of how deeply it is located." ~~~
~~~ Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "'Within the next two weeks.' That is when ... [Donald] Trump now says he will be ready to make his decision about bombing Iran or not.... As almost everyone in Washington is by now aware, 'two weeks; is one of Mr. Trump's favorite units of time.... Tax plans, health care policies, evidence of conspiracy theories he claimed were true, the fight against ISIS, the opening of some coal mines, infrastructure plans -- all were at one point or another riddles he promised to solve for the public in about two weeks.... It is not an objective unit of time.... It simply means later. But later can also mean never. Sometimes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
⭐~~~ Paul Waldman on Substack: "Which group of morons is Trump going to listen to?... There are some smart, thoughtful, and experienced people in the Republican foreign policy and national security world, but none of them have any influence over this president. He sits between two collections of idiots, all begging for his favor while they try to convince him that their side is the correct one.... I'm sure Trump has seen the polls [which show most Americans oppose inserting the U.S. military into Israel/Iran war], but the truth is that he's less likely to be influenced by them than he is by whatever he sees on Fox & Friends the morning he makes his decision. And on Fox, the cheerleading for Israel and the encouragement for America to join in has been relentless. Which is why odds are better than even that those bunker-busters are going to be falling before long. Either way, the morons will have won the argument." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. MB: Please read Waldman's post in full, because he names the usual suspects. BTW, I heard on the news that moron Steve Bannon was seen entering the White House Thursday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Josh Marshall of TPM: "... in the last 48 hours or so, we've gone from the U.S. being pretty clear it will not get involved beyond defensive assistance to Israel in blocking missiles and drones to the situation [Tuesday] morning, in which it seems like the U.S. may be very close to joining the Israeli bombing campaign.... It's important to step back and recognize that there is really, literally no one in the inner discussion of U.S. foreign policy today who has any level of foreign policy or military crisis experience at all.... There's really no one in the room, as it were, who is in a position to keep the President from just riffing. And I think there's a decent chance that's exactly what's happening.... [Trump] sees a winning operation and he can't resist slapping the Trump nameplate on it." Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.)
A Racist Message from the White POTUS*. Aishvarya Kavi of the New York Times: "Juneteenth, the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated at the White House each June 19 since it was enshrined into law four years ago. But on Thursday, it went unmarked by the president -- except for a post on social media in which he said he would get rid of some 'non-working holidays.' 'Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year,' Mr. Trump said in mangled syntax, not mentioning Juneteenth by name nor acknowledging that Thursday was a federal holiday. 'It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'" MB: That is, according to the White POTUS, the U.S. can't be great if it celebrates the end of slavery. At least we know now that it's possible to thumb-text while wearing a KKK hood. ~~~
~~~ Darlene Superville of the AP: "...Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it 'very famous.'But on this year's Juneteenth holiday on Thursday..., [there were] no words about it from his lips, on paper or through his social media site."
Ha Ha Ha. Ashley Belanger of ArsTechnica: "The Trump Organization's rollout of Trump Mobile on Monday -- a new wireless service using Trump's image to sell smartphones -- was notably messy. Not only did the website reportedly glitch while processing preorders..., but ... the Trump Mobile coverage map used the Gulf of Mexico instead of using Trump's controversial new name for the body of water, the Gulf of America, Reuters reported. Trump has been sued for penalizing AP News for failing to adopt the label, so a wireless service bearing his name would be expected to fall in line. Mocked with screenshots, the Trump Organization yanked the coverage map within hours of launching the site, breaking links and generating errors on Tuesday, confirming that 'the page could not be found.'" Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
⭐Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The Department of Homeland Security has imposed new limits on visits by members of Congress and their staff to immigration enforcement facilities, intensifying a conflict between federal immigration officials and Democratic lawmakers over the separation of powers. Under federal law, members of Congress can make unannounced oversight visits to immigration facilities that 'detain or otherwise house aliens.' Lawmakers are not required to provide 'prior notice of the intent to enter a facility' to conduct oversight, though members of their staff must request a visit at least 24 hours in advance. But in guidance released this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement asks members of Congress to give at least 72 hours notice for a visit to its facilities. Asked about the policy, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, went even further, suggesting that federal officials would not be allowed entry unless they provided a week's notice. 'A week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the president's constitutional authority,' the spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement. She added that 'any request to shorten that time must be approved' by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Chuck Schumer and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) (here) made statements. Well, blah blah. Members of Congress should immediately sue for an emergency order forcing all ICE facilities to allow Congressional oversight as required by law. Standing on the outside whining is not a strategy. ~~~
~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "'These are not detention facilities, they're just facilities where people are being detained' is both farcical on its face and the kind of intelligence-insulting self-refutation that might be good enough for John Roberts since a Republican administration is making it."
Charlie Savage & Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Thursday cleared the way for ... [Donald] Trump to keep using the National Guard to respond to immigration protests in Los Angeles, declaring that a judge in San Francisco erred last week when he ordered Mr. Trump to return control of the troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. In a unanimous, 38-page ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the conditions in Los Angeles were sufficient for Mr. Trump to decide that he needed to take federal control of California's National Guard and deploy it to ensure that federal immigration laws would be enforced. A lower-court judge had concluded that the protests were not severe enough for Mr. Trump to use a rarely-triggered law to federalize the National Guard over Mr. Newsom's objections. But the panel, which included two appointees of Mr. Trump and one of former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., disagreed with the lower court." A CBS News report is here.
Standoff at Dodger Stadium. Fabian Ardaya & Rebecca Tauber of the New York Times: "The Los Angeles Dodgers saw the ongoing battle between federal immigration authorities and immigrant rights advocates reach their front door on Thursday morning, as federal authorities showed up to Dodger Stadium's Gate A and requested access. The organization said Thursday it denied the agency access to its parking lots, later postponing its plans to announce assistance to immigrant communities impacted by a recent crackdown from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.... According to local media reports and first-hand accounts, a caravan of unmarked vehicles showed up outside Gate A, the main entrance to Dodger Stadium, at about 8 a.m. local time, saying that they had detainees to process. The Dodgers denied the agents access to the property, at which point they moved to Gate E, the 'Downtown Gate.' Protestors also began to show up at Gate E, at which point the Dodgers, according to the Los Angeles Times, asked local police to intervene. In a scene that unfolded there, an LAPD officer told protesters that they were asking both protesters and federal agents to leave.... A reporter for a Los Angeles television station posted video on social media of LAPD vehicles escorting federal agents off the property just after noon." The NBC News story is here.
Marie: Okay, I failed to post the video below timely, but every dog deserves his day, and that is doubly true for these gay robot dogs. Watch to the end: ~~~
Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "If you don't have anything nice to say, just make something up instead. That's the strategy Republican politicians have adopted in hopes of selling their regressive, unpopular budget bill to voters, as an even harsher version of the legislation now makes its way through the Senate.... Cruel, unpopular ideas from Republicans are a political gift to Democrats, of course. So how are Republicans responding? Not by defending their agenda on its merits, but by lying about or misrepresenting what they plan to do."
Marie: I don't know about you, but I'm sick of paying for Elon Musk's SpaceX explosions: ~~~
~~~ Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "SpaceX's Starship spacecraft exploded on its test stand late Wednesday, sending a large fireball into the South Texas sky and dealing another major setback to Elon Musk's company. It was the fourth time the company has lost a Starship spacecraft this year. In three previous test flights, the vehicle came apart or detonated during its flight. In a post on the social media site X, SpaceX said that the explosion, which could be seen for miles, happened at about 11 p.m. Central time.... [NASA] has awarded contracts worth $4 billion to SpaceX for the development of Starship, which it intends to use to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface." (Also linked yesterday.) An AP report is here. A more detailed ArsTechnica report is here.
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Florida AG James Uthmeier has posted a video on "X", titled "Alligator Alcatraz" proposing an immigrant detention facility be built in the Everglades.
from Tampa Bay Times
What's preferable in a leader?
A Decider who makes the wrong decisions? Or a Ditherer who relies on uncertainty to mask his incompetence?
That 30,000 lb. bomb is over 20 feet long and can penetrate the
ground 200 feet before exploding.
I was thinking of building a bomb shelter in case things get really
bad, but I'm on a flood plain, close to the river, so if I dig down
2 or 3 feet, the hole fills up with water, and I can't swim.
Maybe I should move to Canada.
Gizmodo
"Silicon Valley Execs Join the Army as Officers (But Won’t Have to Attend Boot Camp)
"The U.S. military recently announced that four executives from some of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley have joined the Army Reserve as direct-commissioned officers. The move is part of a push to speed up the adoption of technology in the military, but as the news outlet Task & Purpose points out, it’s pretty unusual.
The Army said in a press release that the four executives are Shyam Sankar, CTO at Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, CTO at Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer of OpenAI; and Bob McGrew, an advisor at Thinking Machines Lab and former Chief Research Officer for OpenAI.
The four men are being commissioned at the high rank of lieutenant colonel as part of a program called Detachment 201: The Army’s Executive Innovation Corps. As Task & Purpose notes, the men will get to skip the usual process of taking a Direct Commissioning Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, and they won’t need to complete the Army Fitness Test."
"Donald Trump’s violence lit the Minnesota fuse"
The guy who spends half his time on the golf course is complaining that Americans don't work enough. The ones with multiple jobs or working 70 hours a week with just a couple of days of vacation a year.
Juneteenth might have been a federal holiday, but the salad crew was by and picked up my can as usual on Thursday.
If diplomacy between the Iranians and various European representatives succeeds in putting an end to this will he or won’t he drop the big one bullshit, will Fatty take credit for the cease fire (likr he always tries to do) and demand a Nobel peace prize?
How ‘bout we give him the Dumbbell piece prize? None of this would have happened if he hadn’t torn up the freaking agreement we already had with Iran.
He didn’t like it? Fine. Send over some real negotiators (not a condo salesman), reopen talks and see if you can make some adjustments to the thing while the original agreement is still in place.
But no…That’s not Fat Hitler’s style. Like the obese little bully on the beach, he waddles around kicking over every sand castle in sight. Then he demands a prize.
The Dumbbell piece prize. Here ya go, chubby. Hang that up next to your bed making medal. What’s that? When will the prize be delivered? In about two weeks. How’s that?
Peter Thiel and Palantir have been the subjects of several essays recently. Here is another by Robert Reich, on substack, describes The Most Dangerous Corporation in America
"In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, a 'palantir' is a seeing stone that can be used to distort truth and present selective visions of reality. During the War of the Ring, a palantir falls under the control of Sauron, who uses it to manipulate and deceive.
Palantir Technologies bears a striking similarity. It sells an AI-based data platform that allows its users — among them, military and law enforcement agencies — to analyze personal data, including social media profiles, personal information, and physical characteristics. These are used to identify and surveil individuals."
and incidentally,
"Palantir recently disclosed that Karp received $6.8 billion in 'compensation actually paid' in 2024 (you read that right) — making him the second-highest paid chief executive of a publicly traded company in the United States (behind Musk)."