Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act blasted as abuse of power
A roundup of responses to the administration attempt to send all the Venezuelans they can catch to prison in El Salvador with zero due process.
New filing in the Alien Enemies Act case
If the president can designate any group as enemy aliens under the act, and that designation is unreviewable, then there is no limit on who can be sent to a Salvadoran prison, or any limit on how long they will remain there.
Yeah, exactly. Including current citizens, if they manage to get the birthright citizenship nonsense to stick.
Judge finds Elon Musk likely acted unconstitutionally in shuttering USAID
The interesting thing is that this is an appointments clause decision - which, if upheld, would make everything Musk has done unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the eggs are already broken.
FTC Removes Posts Critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and AI Companies
Another break for poor oppressed billionaires.
Moscow and Beijing rejoice at looming death of Radio Free Europe, VOA
The enemy of my enemy is (checks notes) a free press.
3 vaccine doses cut long-COVID risk by over 60%, analysis suggests
Vaccines work. What a surprise.
NASA’s Webb Images Young, Giant Exoplanets, Detects Carbon Dioxide
I’m a child of the Space Age (grew up in 1960’s SoCal) so to me PICTURES OF PLANETS OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM is pretty darned exciting.
Leaked memo: DOGE plots to cut Social Security phone support
I was just thinking it might be time to apply for my Social Security, even though I’d planned to hold off another couple of years, before co-Presidents Musk and Trump crippled the system. Looks like I was too late.
Update: the Newegg seller refunded the excessive markup. On the one hand, this makes me happier. On the other, I wonder how often they get away with this. Not naming them, on the off chance that this really was an honest mistake.
I ordered a new laptop ethernet adapter from a Newegg seller because I’m trying to discontinue doing business with Amazon. So I was miffed when it arrived shipped from Amazon, and much more annoyed to discover a 300% markup (!). I guess the lesson is to not use Newegg marketplace sellers.
Judge lashes out at Trump admin over deportation flights
As of right now, it appears to be the administration position that because of (pick one or more) national security, or being in command of the military, or being responsible for foreign policy, that the President can deport anyone he wants to anywhere he wants. And the courts can go piss up a rope.
“Droplets”
Olympus TG6, f/4.9, 1/400s, ISO 640. Along the Ridgeline Trail.
Didn’t finish reading: Destiny’s Road 📚
Usually I like Niven’s work, but this one just never seemed to get anywhere, and I gave up at the halfway point. At my age, I’m never going to finish reading all the books I like, so there’s no point in slogging through ones I’m not enjoying.
“Rainy Day Flower”
Olympus TG6, f/4.9, 1/400s, ISO 250. Along the Ridgeline Trail.
Trump’s border czar: “I don’t care what the judges think”
Speaking of lawless.
Trump: Biden Jan. 6 panel pardons, others ‘void’ because autopen use
Sorry, Presidents have used autopens for decades and there are court precedents that declare this is fine. Not that that really matters to a lawless administration steeped in conspiracy theories.
“Rainbow Rays”
Olympus TG6, f/4.9, 1/180s, ISO 125. Along the Ridgeline Trail.
Really hard to capture what this really looked like, even with heavy post-processing in Darktable. But it was sure pretty!
1 in 8 COVID survivors still have symptoms 2 years after infection, researchers say
This is one big reason I’m still careful when COVID case numbers rise. Fortunately around here masking is still acceptable. (But how long will we even know the numbers, with CDC being gutted?)
People are using Google’s new AI model to remove watermarks from images
Whether Google tweaks this particular feature or not, watermarking is effectively dead. AI models that don’t care about copyright are unstoppable at this point.