I ask bc I'm newly obsessed with the fact that Michael Whatley and Greg Bovino were in high school together.

Who was in your high school graduating class, +/- two years, that would be of interest? For example, I took a basketball class and graduated w/all-time 8th man Jud Buechler (look it up), and may have followed Stephanie Seymour (not sure if she still WENT to school after I moved there).

This is, of course, a fascinating thread from Kate asking why Google is effectively cannibalizing its own market for both digital ads on third party properties and search ads, by effectively taking away the incentive to click through to third party sites. I have a theory as to why they're doing it.

Michael Whately and Greg Bovino both graduated from Watauga High within a year or two of each other.

Btw, Newsom's trolls are given Trump some of his own "Quiet Piggy" medicine.

Note: The court ruled that Texas violated the 14th and 15th Amendments by discriminating on the basis of race when drawing its new Republican gerrymander. So this opinion will not be fatally undermined by the Supreme Court's impending blow to the Voting Rights Act; it has an independent rationale.

I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered. He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here : www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...

Where things stand right now in states that have drawn new maps: • TX: Blocked by court (+5 R max) • MO: Likely to be blocked by referendum (+1 R) • NC: +1 R at most, could be zero • OH: Up to +2 R, could be zero • CA: Likely +5 Dem • UT: +1 Dem Other new maps could also emerge.

Chat, is this good

“50,000 ICE goons in, 300,000 people out, including people who cure cancer, help learning disabled kids get through school, protect our National Parks, ensure your Social Security comes on time, and care for veterans.”

Whoa: A federal court just barred Texas from using its new congressional map, drawn by the GOP to target Dems. "Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 Map." Court says the old map must be used in 2026. Appeals are certain. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The United States Can't Afford the Opportunity Cost of Stephen Miller's Bigotry www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/18/t...

Nearly two weeks of surveillance footage from the Broadview ICE Detention Center has been "irretrievably destroyed" and cannot be produced as evidence in a lawsuit against the government over abhorrent conditions there: www.404media.co/two-weeks-of...

The journalist who asked is Mary Bruce. Kudos to her for asking.

Michael Whatley is affirmatively running on ICE/CBP invasion and I hope NC can make him pay the price for this.

Regular reminder for folks reporting on federal courts that there are two different Judges Ho (Dale / SDNY, James / 5th Cir), with two different judicial philosophies. Remember it this way: When your Judge Ho is Dale, your claims might not fail. When your Judge Ho is Jim, your chances are grim.

FWIW, I am temporarily resting my Discount Goebbels nickname for Stephen Miller (which I've used less for SEO purposes) in favor of Discount Herod.

Last Thanksgiving, two Dallas Police officers knocked on my door, citing a tip from the FBI national threat operations center that I was beating my girlfriend. The incident report confirms this. Today, I obtained a file from the FBI via FOIA that states the FBI has no record of receiving such a tip.

Chicagoans saying farewell to Bovino:

I love that every single Chicagoan is mocking Greg Bovino bc he can't hack a Chicago winter (even if in reality they're moving in part bc fewer workers are out on the streets).

8/Extraction replaces equilibrium. The point of tariffs is not to create a new steady state but to gain concessions/tribute. These may be material (see the gold bars) but also about status (see Pakistan agreeing to nominate Trump for a nobel). www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/w...

Trump said this almost the same day some genius decided to name the invasion of Charlotte Charlotte's Web.

Meanwhile, consider this. A GREAT NUMBER of beltway scribes wasted time last fall obsessing abt Nuzzi's sexting life rather than focusing on dangers of electing a fascist. And now, Condé Nast has chosen Nuzzi over Tean Vogue's exceptional political reporting (and the 5 journos who stood up for it).

The Bluesky Demographic will appreciate that I just had to explain who Mark Sanford is to the youngs in the group chat

In April 2009, the Washington Post asked 10 writers to make the case for something that deserves to be tossed out as part of "spring cleaning." I chose Larry Summers. Better late than never. Unlocked version of my 16-year-old article below. naomiklein.org/why-we-shoul...

I would regale you with my post on how Trump's retreat on Epstein parallels his retreat on coffee tariffs, but Cloudflare says I can't. So until then, remember that Jeffrey Epstein is important bc it undercut Trump's ability to direct attention. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mG_...

Shit.

Just in time for the AI bubble to burst. Let's hope some factory is switching production lines to pitchforks the same way 3D printers are focusing on ICE whistles.

As you read about how (one of) Trump's resident Nazi's interceded to protect accused sex traffickers bc it wasn't a good use of time to image their devices, remember that Jim Comey has made very credible claims the investigation into him violated his privilege and 4A to snoop on his conversations.

So Harvard is keeping this guy, but Claudine Gay had to step down over ginned up plagiarism accusations and bad-faith accusations of anti-Semitism. Got it.

NYT declares that Trump has been forced to make a rare retreat on Epstein ... 72 hours after Trump started retreating at full sprint from some of his tariffs.

The Rolling Corruption behind the Letitia James Prosecution www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/18/t...

As I ponder whether Lindsey Halligan is malicious or stupid, I remember her censorship choices at the Smithsonian.

This story from @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social, captures how the impunity Jan6ers believe they had LED DIRECTLY to Andrew Paul Johnson sexually abusing young children. theintercept.com/2025/11/17/p...

For those trying to make sense of what the Comey stuff was today, check out this podcast where @mitchellepner.bsky.social explains it to @klasfeldreports.com. www.allrisenews.com/p/comey-hall...

Nachmanoff has given the govt 2 days to pull something out of their arse.

While we're waiting for denouement of Comey let's rate how big the lies that Lindsey the Insurance Lawyer submitted last week. 1) "There was no additional presentation, interaction, or discussion with the grand jury outside of what is reflected in the transcript." Absolute horseshit.

While we're waiting for denouement of Comey GJ stuff, Tish James has filed egregious govt conduct challenge based on Bill Pulte's unlawful snooping into her. It largely serves as a vehicle to ask for reports on that which EDVA said they refused to share. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Folks, I don't think the lawyers can make anymore sense of this. But what APPEARS to have happened is: 1) They no-billed one count. 2) SOMEONE IN THE GOVT LEARNED THAT. 3) They put together a 2-count indictment and, w/o re-presenting the case, got them to vote for those. The whole thing is cooked.

"So they separated it." That's what the only indictment against Jim Comey is. "Count Two and Three were then put" by someone who may or may not be Lindsey Halligan "in a different package."

Whatever Trump and Epstein did with those girls is fair game, as long as they told them that Santa Claus is white. by Megyn Kelly

An endless amount of deranged details in this interview with Greg Bovino's sister, but most notably that his uncle produced the Jack Nicholson movie The Border and the depiction of the agent as corrupt radicalized him as a 12-yr-old. "Since then, he was like, 'Dude, I want to do Border Patrol.'"

79-year-old Paul Bojerski was born to Polish parents in a WWII German refugee camp. His family legally emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5. He’s been taken by ICE in Florida. www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/16/s...

Loaner AUSA Gabriel Diaz: Why Do You Think There Are Two Indictments Signed by Lindsey Halligan? www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/17/l...

MJ Fitzpatrick: Here are 11 things you fucked up, from basic law to 4A to privilege. James Hayes writing for Loaner AUSA for Lindsey the Insurance Lawyer: Why would you think there were two indictments if Lindsey provided two indictments? storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

For those asking, I have not reviewed the transcript from the Comey indictment return but here's a thorough report based on it. www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-j...

Reupping, from the weekend. Folks should look a little more closely at Pam Bondi's re-ratification of Lindsey the Insurance Lawyer's so-called indictment. www.emptywheel.net/2025/11/15/p...

I've got a page tracking the developments in the Jim Comey case for those wanting to catch up. www.emptywheel.net/portfolio-it...