My half-written posts yesterday are about (1) [former Zambada-Garcia sicario] "El Chino Antrax" going missing while on supervised release in San Diego, (2) Paul Manafort's release, Michael Cohen's non-release (as of now), and the complex procedure and arbitrary decisions of BOP on medically challenged inmates' request for compassionate release and reduction of sentence to a term of home detention, and the disagreement among the federal district courts when reviewing BOP denials, on everything from jurisdiction and exhaustion of remedies to interpreting the statute and AG Memoranda and (3) the 50 BOP press releases each announcing the death of the an inmate who died of complications from COVID-19 while serving their sentence. All had prior medical conditions which put them at greater risk of serious injury or death from COVID-19.

I could have written three briefs in the time I've spent on these three posts, but they aren't finished. So in the meantime, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm tired of repeating what Donald Trump says. It's so pointless. I don't think he believes any of it, it's all for effect, just a re-election campaign ploy and a futile attempt to change how the history books characterize his abysmal reign of terror in the White House. His modus operandi is so transparent by now. Every lie he tells is carefully planned to distract us from the critical issues facing the country, in a desperate attempt to hide his personal failure as a leader and a human being. While he doesn't believe his own lies, he does harbor the futile belief that we won't find out till long after he's gone that he was the most inept person ever to occupy a desk in the oval office.

Latest case in point: His attempt to blame his administration's failures on Barack Obama. Anyone with a television set knows that 80,0000 Americans have now died from Covid-19. Yesterday alone, 985 deaths were recorded. So today Trump pretends the subject of the day is Barack Obama. And the senseless mediaactually reports on this.

One word in the dictionary (and its antonyms) is all you need to tell Donald Trump from Barack Obama and realize there is absolutely no reason to even discuss, let alone debate Trump's claim: Inanity [More...]

Everybody knows the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody's got this broken feeling
like their father or their dog just died

I'm sorry for my absence last week. I just got tired of thinking about coronavirus. It seems pretty clear it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Also, I am not interested in the allegations against Joe Biden. Until there are investigations into the multiple allegations involving force or unwanted touching against Donald Trump, it's not right to investigate Joe Biden. His denial should be worth as much as Donald Trump's denial. If a denial is all it took for Trump to continue with his election campaign in 2016, it should be good enough for Biden now. He denied it, let's move on.
[More...]

The White House and author of this modeling report showing an expected increase in covid-19 cases and deaths by June 1 are doing their best to convice the media this report was not finished and isn't meanat to be relied on.

The daily death toll will reach about 3,000 on June 1, according to an internal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly double the current number of about 1,750.

...The projections, based on government modeling pulled together in chart form by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, forecast about 200,000 new cases each day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000 cases a day currently.

The report is here. [More...]

Donald Trump has not reacted well to the massive mocking he has been subjected to by mainstream and social media as a result of his idiotic comments about investigating whether injecting bleach into humans might be the cure for the coronavirus.

First, he said he was being sarcastic. The Guardian explains how ridiculous that defense is. Here is the clip of the original comments. Here is the clip of his "sarcastic" defense.

Meanwhile, his press secretary contadicts him, claiming in a press release that the brouhaha is the result of the media taking his comments out of context. [More....]

The Global Citizen concert yesterday honoring first responders and healthcare workers was excellent. Of course my favorite was the Rolling Stones. You can see all the excellent performances on You Tube (or at yesterday you could).

A big thanks to Lady Gaga who made it happen.

I am captivated by her microphone. Anyone know what kind it is?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Thank you Governor Jared Polis for being such a strong leader and positive example for all Coloradans during this crisis. I have watched most of your press conferences and I wish that public officials in all parts of the country cared as much about their fellow citizens as you do.

The far right, especially those posing as libertarians in cities protesting "stay at home" orders have their head up their as*. Northern and rural Michigan are as far apart politically as you can get from Detroit and the surrounding urban areas where thousands of people are dying. Think Terry Nichols country (since it is the anniversary of the OKC bombing today). [More..]

On Rachel Maddow's show, Rachel Maddow asked Elizabeth Warren “If [Biden] asked you to be his runnng mate, would you say yes?”
Warren's one word answer: "Yes.”

Elizabeth is so much more ready for the job than someone like Stacy Abrams. I would not want Stacy Abrams as President if something happened to Biden after he was sworn in. There are three strong women Senators who ran against Biden. I think any one of them would be better than Biden, which means I would support any of the three over VP. Stacy Abrams, a former state legislator. It's not her time yet and I'd wouldn't feel safe. falling asleep at night knowing she was in control. Once she gets some sea legs, I might change my mind, but not this year.

Biden already has the Black vote. It's time for him to choose another segment of society: Not sure who that would be though..

Why does the media continue to carry Trump's press statements? He is a dangerous, dishonest demogogue that should be frog-marched out of office, not given a daily platform for his reelection campaign.

He is consumed by self pity. He fingerpoints at everyone and takes no responsibility. He calls the Times story fake news. He plays a powerpoint with selected clips praising him. He denies he wanted Fauci fired. Fauci comes up to distinguish what he said earlier from being a criticism of Trump. How so? It was a "hypothetical". Trump flounders when asked about why he re-tweeted "#FireFauci" if he didn't want him fired. He says he was just retweeting someone else's opinion.

Astonishingly, Trump says the Governors elected not to get ventilators. (They should have had their own stockpiles). "We've done this right," he claims.

Trump says he, not the governors, has the ultimate authority to order the country to re-open. He says he's close to doing so, and it may happen ahead of schedule. "We're ready to rock". [More...]

The New York Times reports that Chicago's notorious Cook County Jail is now the largest source of the coronavirus in the U.S -- there are more cases at the jail (387) than there were in New Rochelle or on the USS Theodore Roosevelt or in the nursing home in Washington.

As of Tuesday, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail, said 272 inmates and 115 staff members had tested positive. But because the vast majority of the jail’s 5,000 inmates have not been tested, corrections officers have said the numbers are likely far higher. In late March, the jail had just two diagnoses.

On the federal side, the Bureau of Prisons publishes numbers every day. Today there are:

241 federal inmates and 73 BOP staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 nationwide. There have been 8 federal inmate deaths and 0 BOP staff member deaths attributed to COVID-19 disease.

The virus has hit 31 BOP facilities (prisons and detention centers for those held without bail but not yet convicted) and 6 half way houses.

BOP says it has released 615 inmates on home confinement pursuant to AG Barr's recent order.

Bernie Sanders has dropped out of the Democratic race for President.

That leaves Joe Biden. I don't believe Joe Biden will beat Donald Trump for one reason:

"I was inspired by Joe Biden" said no one ever.

At 77+, Biden should be writing his memoirs, not looking for a "personal best" and running for President. I change the channel when he comes on, just like I do with Trump.

Biden's pick for VP could make a positive difference or sink him. After all, there's a pretty good chance given Biden's age that the VP will end up being President. [More...]

Managing a law practice remotely takes a huge amount of time. I expected it to be less time-consuming since I am not going to courts and jails and client meetings, but it is the opposite.

I have not even had time to read the news today. I assume more people died and Trump is still in his own head rather than addressing the critical issues we all face, so I may not have missed anything.

I hope all TL readers and their families are symptom-free and not going stir-crazy staying at home.

I am fine, but since I am of elevated risk just due to my age, I am only leaving my house to go to the grocery store, where I wear gloves but no mask. I tried for hours on two separate days to make one of those easy no-sew masks, and failed each time. Worse, I ruined two good t-shirts: [More...]