Adam J Schmidt

Hundreds Quarantined in South Carolina as Measles Outbreak Shows No Sign of Slowing The outbreak shows no signs of slowing, likely because of the affected area’s “lower-than-hoped-for vaccination coverage,” a state health official said.

More than 250 people who were exposed to measles, including dozens of unvaccinated school-aged children, are quarantining in South Carolina as the state wrestles to contain an outbreak that has sickened more than 110 people.

It's not just social media. Looks like visitors to the US from Europe and other countries that are part of the visa waiver program will have to submit an enormous amount of data about themselves and their families, including DNA, if proposed new rules are accepted

Seriously! They're just going to go to one of the six Disney resorts outside the US.

It's a Canadian children's book! 😮

This should be the biggest story in the country right now. The sitting US President was extorting state lawmakers from his own party by threatening to withhold public money if they didn’t gerrymander for him.

I don’t know how else to say it…

Denied Federal Disaster Aid, a Town in Trump Country Feels Forgotten

In Maryland, "state officials submitted a request for about $16 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"The response was blunt: denied."

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/u...

Email addresses for the past 10 years?! People are just going to go on vacation somewhere else.

Can the President's pardon power be used to remove civil liability for a debt? Been reading about the impending end of the SAVE program and am curious if that's a potential backdoor to student loan forgiveness in the future. 🤔

Federal Reserve Board announces reappointment of Reserve Bank presidents and first vice presidents Following a comprehensive review by the boards of directors of the regional Reserve Banks, and the unanimous concurrence of Federal Reserve Board members, the

@federalreserve.gov announces reappointment of Federal Reserve Bank presidents and first vice presidents after a comprehensive review by the boards of directors of each Reserve Bank, along with unanimous support by Federal Reserve Board members: www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/p...

Tweet by Heritage Foundation co founder criticizing Heritage Action threat to Indiana

The Heritage Foundation is cracking

NEW: Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) says Colorado will not release Tina Peters after President Trump announced he is pardoning her state-level convictions.

"This is a lawless act. It's an act of intimidation," Weiser said. "It has no basis in the American law."

In case you ever needed proof that the Heritage Foundation is not a conservative organization, here we have them cheering on the Federal Government threatening to strip all funding from a state that does not make political decisions the President likes. Any true conservative would be howling.

He's a deeply weird person -- always has been.

"She's got a wonderful boy. And she's very proud of her boy" is a pretty weird way for a dad to talk about his own son. They're all such bizarrely monstrous people.

All in one day:
-Abrego Garcia released
-Indiana gerrymandering rejected
-failure to indict Letitia James

The US government is now a mafia organization.

Including death threats! 👀 bsky.app/profile/step...

Image of Indiana Republicans’ attempted new congressional gerrymander that was designed to turn their currently gerrymandered 7-to-2 majority into a 9-to-0 majority. An accompanying chart displays the 2024 presidential results for each district. Every district is a shade of medium to dark red, and five districts crack the Indianapolis metropolitan area to prevent the heavily Democratic city and its suburbs from electing a Democrat or two. Two districts also split the Democratic-leaning northwest along Lake Michigan by combining the region with rural areas further south and east.

BREAKING: Indiana Republicans FAILED to pass a new 9-0 congressional gerrymander after enough GOP senators sided with Dems. The GOP's 7-2 map stays in place.

Trump is trying to re-gerrymander maps nationwide. At least 11 Indiana Rs got death threats after he called for primaries—but it still failed

And after direct threats no less! bsky.app/profile/ronf...

Their closing message to Indiana: change your maps to artificially benefit the President's political party or 'roads will not be paved' as punishment.

They are openly saying this.

Who would want to live in a country that works like that?

In a setback for Trump, Indiana lawmakers defeat redistricting plan Republicans resisted the call by President Trump for redistricting. He and the state's Republican governor threatened to back primary challenges against Senators who wouldn't get on board.

Glad Indiana has some Republicans willing to vote their conscience.

"In a setback for Trump, Indiana lawmakers defeat redistricting plan"

www.npr.org/2025/12/11/n...

Administration fails again to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James A grand jury has refused to indict New York attorney general Letitia James, the second panel to refuse to do so, dealing a major setback to President Trump.

Well there's embarrassing -- how many indictments have they failed to secure at this point? 🤔

"Administration fails again to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James"

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Denmark sees US as potential security concern | CNN Denmark has labeled the United States as a potential security concern for the first time in an annual report released by one of its intelligence agencies, offering more evidence of the increasingly fr...

🚨 Denmark has labeled the United States as a potential security concern for the first time in an annual report released by one of its intelligence agencies

www.cnn.com/2025/12/10/e...

HUGE. Judge Xinis grants the writ of habeas corpus and orders that the government "SHALL release [Kilmar] Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately."

B. No Order of Removal Exists for Abrego Garcia No such order of removal exists for Abrego Garcia. When Abrego Garcia was first wrongly expelled to El Salvador, the Court struggled to understand the legal authority for even seizing him in the first place. At the first hearing in Abrego I, the Court inquired of Respondents’ counsel: The Court: I want to ask, though, the very specific question, if there is a final order of removal, what . . . document got this process started? There is no warrant for his arrest by an order of removal. There is no statement of probable cause. There’s no charge. There’s no report that says that anyone saw Mr. Abrego Garcia doing anything illegal or criminal. So what is the actual document that gave these officers the authority to start this process? Counsel: That is not in the record, and the government has not put that into the record. And that’s the best I can do. Abrego I, ECF No. 33 at 21:11–22. The Court continued to press counsel about the existence of a removal order and was told plainly that none can be found:

The Court: Okay. So if there’s a Title 8 removal order, there would be an order of removal that’s being executed, and we don’t have one for Mr. Abrego Garcia, right? . . . Do you have that order? . . . Is it in the record? Counsel: I do not have that order. It is not in the record. Id. at 23:7–24:4. Since that time, Respondents have never produced an order of removal despite Abrego Garcia hinging much of his jurisdictional and legal arguments on its non-existence. ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 68–69; ECF No. 32 at 10, 15–17, 27; ECF No. 87 at 11–12. Indeed, Respondents twice sponsored the testimony of ICE officials whose job it is to effectuate removal orders, and who candidly admitted to having never seen one for Abrego Garcia. See ECF No. 107 at 30:16–22 (testimony of Cantú) (“Q: Based upon your many years of experience you described to us, you know what a final order of removal looks like, right, sir? Cantú: I do. Q: And have you seen a final order of removal in regard to Mr. Abrego Garcia? Cantú: I have not.”). See also Abrego I, ECF No. 234 at 46:6–12 (testimony of interim Assistant Director for ICE Removal Operations, Thomas Giles (“Giles”)) (“Q: You have not seen the final order of removal, have you, sir? Giles: What do you mean by that? Q: I mean, you have not seen a piece of paper that represents the final order of removal vis-a-vis Mr. Abrego Garcia, correct? Giles: No, I have not.”).15 Based on this, the Court concludes that no order of removal exists.

🚨Judge Xinis finds that, incredibly, Mr. Abrego Garcia was never ordered deported in 2019. She notes that every since this saga began all the way back in March, the government has NEVER been able to produce any evidence that the immigration judge actually issued a removal order.

A Metro train in a festive red white and green candy themed wrap

Good morning from the holiday candy Metro train 🍬

After my house was robbed, I noticed they were doing some neat things with my old stuff, so I gave them a bunch of money, too.

MINNEAPOLIS: “All I did was step outside as a Somali American citizen, and I got chased by a masked person, assaulted, kidnapped. It was inhumane. If this is what’s happening to a 🇺🇸 citizen on camera, imagine what could happen to your loved ones.”

Leadership is losing what little control they had. Reminds me of when the cracks started showing in the lead up to the 2006 midterms. But this is much more dramatic.

Stuff with the US and Venezuela is bad and likely to get worse, but this seized tanker is reportedly owned by a Russian oligarch, and was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2022 due to suspected involvement in illegal oil smuggling with Iran. Plus breaking maritime law re: flags.

Not piracy. Not war.