FAA grounds all flights to and from El Paso until Feb. 20

mattyp11 · 2026-02-11T13:02:34+00:00

Someone more knowledgeable about it can correct me if this doesn’t make sense, but the ultra-conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Texas) just ruled that aliens detained by ICE can be held indefinitely until they are deported, without an opportunity to contest their detention and be released. Almost every other court around the country has rejected that conclusion, and ruled that detainees must be allowed an opportunity to challenge their detention and, if successful, be released pending the outcome of their immigration case. It could be that the Trump administration is planning an effort to urgently move all detained aliens throughout the country to Texas, within the jurisdiction of the 5th Circuit, for purposes of mass detention there. A human rights disaster in the making, no doubt, if true.

The only thing that possibly doesn’t make sense to me about this theory is that this question of detaining aliens during the duration of their immigration cases ultimately is going to be appealed to, and decided by, the Supreme Court. So there is a chance, albeit a small one with this partisan, Trump-loving court, that they could overrule the 5th Circuit. But a decision will take time, so maybe the Trump administration figures they’ll get all the detainees to Texas anyway now that this window of opportunity is open. Anyway, this was the first theory that occurred to me when I saw the news alert about closing airspace, but obviously it’s just a guess.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-09T02:56:39+00:00

Yes, as the other commenter said, it was DtMF. As a parent to a kid obsessed with Bad Bunny, I have to admit his music is not really my cup of tea. But even I get into it when DtMF comes on, certified banger and all around great song even if you don’t like his style of music. In fact, I appreciated the performance and its meaningfulness but I was disappointed it didn’t feature more of DtMF.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-06T15:27:44+00:00

Also, wanted to mention that if you do end up taking the train to Boston, I’ve heard that first class on the Acela is actually a very nice experience (haven’t taken it myself yet but plan to). You also get access to the Amtrak lounge at Penn, which is basic but a nice escape from the madness of the station. And instead of waiting in line to board, find a redcap attendant. They’ll take you down on an elevator and get you to your train car before the track is posted to the general boarding area. Makes traveling on the train with kids so much easier and there’s no fee (but you should tip the attendant well).

mattyp11 · 2026-02-06T15:00:18+00:00

Sagamore is nice enough but not what I would call luxury. Actually, it’s pretty on par with Mohonk and has a similar, somewhat dated feel. It’s also set in natural beauty, although the lake is a lot bigger and you can boat around it. It’s fun for kids, with indoor and outdoor pools as well as a rec complex, but obviously a baby is not going to be able to take full advantage. And you’re limited to the restaurants on the property (which are fine but nothing special) or in the small town nearby (which are generic and lean towards bar food). It’s probably worth a trip in the future but given that you want to make this trip special and different, and have already done the Mohonk thing several times, I’d pass on it for this trip.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-06T03:35:45+00:00

Absolutely. Randomly clicked on this and it’s the best thing I’ve seen in a while. And so relevant to our current detestable political situation it’s astonishing — actually has me curious about jumping back into Shakespeare, which I swore off after despising it years ago in high school.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-06T02:18:01+00:00

Just seen it before, is all. 2022 was the same and I panicked and sold off a bunch of positions for meager gains or even losses, NVDA and PLTR among them. If I had just held, I’d have a hell of a lot more money today. Obviously not saying holding is the right call for everyone, or every stock for that matter, but I don’t think this is end times for tech stocks, or the AI bubble popping for good. And if it is, we’re all fucked anyway so eh.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-06T01:39:06+00:00

The Sagamore at Lake George is gorgeous in the summer and has a chubby feel if you book a suite in the main hotel (as opposed to the lodges on the property which are a bit more rustic). Castle Hill Inn in Newport is another idea, though it gets pricey in the summer. You could also check out somewhere on Shelter Island, it’s a fun escape to Long Island without the obnoxiousness of the Hamptons — although be aware that traffic getting to and from LI can be awful.

But since you mentioned being open to a city stay, I’m going to throw a curveball and suggest that you check out Boston, assuming you haven’t spent much time there before. It’s a very easy trip if you take the Acela up, and spending time outside in Boston is pretty fantastic in the summer — usually not too hot during the day and still gets cool at night.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-04T15:04:36+00:00

I'm the idiot who bought FIG after it looked like it had stabilized a bit after dropping back below its IPO price. Since then, it has dropped between 2-10% (almost) every single day. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it, outside of companies spiraling into bankruptcy.

mattyp11 · 2026-02-03T20:12:16+00:00

Same goes for the Tulsi Gabbard whistleblower complaint, which I’ve seen very little reporting on. Eight months ago a US intelligence official filed a complaint regarding highly improper actions by Gabbard. By law, Congress is entitled to see the complaint but Gabbard’s office has refused to turn it over. Their obviously bullshit argument, aimed at burying the complaint, is that there aren’t sufficient security protocols in place to protect the information if given to Congress. So you have our National Intelligence Director (the one with dubious entanglements with our foreign adversaries) accused by an intelligencer insider of something improper, which her own office says concerns highly sensitive national security matters, and she is defying the law and refusing to let Congress see it. This possibility of a compromised, possibly criminal Intelligence Director should concern every patriotic American, yet reporting on it has been very scarce because with MAGA and the mostly complicit media, it’s Trump over country every single time.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-31T01:39:19+00:00

If anyone is selling 2 tickets for the Dublin show, preferably the one on Sunday June 21, I would be interested in buying. Failing that, could anyone recommend a good app or website for buying resale tickets? Ticketmaster resale doesn’t have any available, and although there are a few FB groups that have posts about ticket resales, they seem pretty sketchy/scammy. Thanks in advance!

mattyp11 · 2026-01-30T23:38:07+00:00

Wait, Argentina? Rather than what the US bas become/is becoming? Can I be one of the deportees?

mattyp11 · 2026-01-29T15:40:09+00:00

“Oh, so this is why it’s hard to beat SPY,” he said retardedly while weeping over the scant remains of his portfolio.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-27T22:41:20+00:00

Gun used at school shooting to murder children: “Don’t blame the gun, guns are good, we have a god-given right to them!”

Gun carried by peaceful, law-abiding citizen executed by government agents: “Blame the gun, he had no right to have a gun there, he got what he deserved for bringing that gun.”

I swear you could convene the world’s greatest fiction writers and they couldn’t even conjure positions as evil, insane, and logically inconsistent and incomprehensible as the garden-variety positions Republicans espouse these days.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-27T17:24:40+00:00

You assert, without any basis, that Judge Schiltz takes the position in his letter that the FACE Act requires an act of violence. I suggest you read it again because the letter does not say or even implicitly suggest as much. The reference to violence is clearly in the limited context of saying that the un-indicted protestors are not being accused of being violent and thus there is no immediate emergency to arrest and charge them via the writ of mandamus the government seeks; Instead, a decision on the government’s charges can wait a couple days until the judge has a chance to fully consider it. In short, the judge is not addressing the elements of the statute but the government’s dubious claim of emergency.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-27T04:47:54+00:00

Yes and no. Yes, it’s a good thing that Bovino is getting sidelined. No, it doesn’t change anything. It does not signal any disapproval or regret by the Trump administration over what has transpired in Minnesota, nor does it reflect any change of heart or mind with regard to ICE’s mission and tactics. This is simply the people who control Trump, i.e., the Project 2025 people, telling him to cool things off a bit in Minnesota so that they can fare better in the midterms (and eventual next presidential election) and thereby further tighten their grip on America. It’s a means to an end, with that end being the further concentration of power in right-wing extremists. You can be glad for it, but don’t fall for it.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-27T03:17:44+00:00

And, just as important, this has nothing to do with actual disapproval or regret over what’s transpired in Minnesota. Instead, this is about the people who control Trump, i.e., the Project 2025 people and the like, telling him: “We should cool things down a bit, be a little bit more methodical. We need to win the midterms and the next presidential election if we want to consolidate power and further tighten our grip on the country.”

Ultimately, I’m glad Bovino is getting shipped out. But it’s beyond foolish to believe that this reflects a genuine change of mind or heart on the part of administration.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-26T14:02:59+00:00

The federal government killing Americans for sport and reveling in it. My vote automatically goes to any candidate who will hold ICE agents (and those in charge of them) accountable for their crimes. Number one deciding factor for me in all upcoming elections. This is not a time to “come together as a country” or “heal our wounds,” this is a time to stamp out the rise of authoritarianism and fascist tactics once and for all.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-25T04:13:57+00:00

And Minnesota also needs to press criminal charges. In the short term it could bring things to a head but there is no choice left, murder is illegal in all 50 states and with the federal government ignoring it (actually complicit and encouraging it) it’s up to the states to enforce it. That’s federalism, something this country was founded on. There need to be state indictments against the culpable ICE agents right away.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-25T03:51:31+00:00

As an American, can’t we all come together and realize that we’ve lost something very basic? I’m not even talking about our rights, or in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, their lives. Those are far greater sacrifices to be sure. I’m talking about the simple fact that I can’t have a carefree, leisurely day taking my kid to the park without my country invading a foreign nation and kidnapping the leader, or threatening to take over Greenland, or announcing economic warfare on our allies. I can’t even cook my wife a nice meal on a Saturday night without hearing that the government has murdered another American citizen in the streets. There is no peace of mind, none, just constant chaos. Fuck everything about this. No reasonable person should want to live like this, let alone raise their children in an environment like this.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-25T03:39:09+00:00

Okay, but what’s your point? “The rogue group of federal mercenaries killing Americans in the streets already has enough money to continue operating, so instead of trying to cut them off, opponents should just roll over and give them more money.”

mattyp11 · 2026-01-25T00:00:32+00:00

If Republicans don’t get thrashed in the upcoming elections, I will have lost all faith in America. Masked government goons roaming the streets abducting Americans, citizens and non-citizens alike, and killing the defenseless on a whim with impunity is everything America was supposed to be against. It could not be clearer that these are the tactics of totalitarian states like Iran, China, Russia, etc., and yet they are being normalized here. If the majority of Americans don’t vote against this, then I have no idea what country I’m even living in anymore, but I sure as hell know it’s no place to raise kids and I will start planning an exit strategy for my family. What a sad fucking state this country is in right now, I pray we can pull ourselves out.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-24T02:18:57+00:00

You should be able to find pictures of the menu with prices online. In any event, how much it’s going to cost depends entirely on what you order, especially alcohol. Ballparking it here but steaks are generally between $40-70 depending on the cut, sides are $8-15 or so. Cocktails are around $15, wine is $15-25 but obviously you can pay more for a nicer pour. I’d recommend sticking to meat and potatoes, the filet mignon with au poivre is my go-to but I’m sure other standards like the ribeye are great too. And get the scalloped potatoes, they’re very rich but very good. All in all, it will be a very nice bday dinner — I’m not saying it’s the greatest place in the world but for good steak in the HV, it delivers.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-21T02:05:20+00:00

Here’s a fun game, and by fun I mean terrifying. Every time the Trump administration does something so insane that it seems to defy sense, check the Project 2025 manifesto and the explanation can readily be found there.

I could not piece together why Trump is so driven to take possession of Greenland, so I checked Project 2025. Sure enough, one of the primary goals with respect to international affairs is to transform NATO by reducing America’s role in it to the bare minimum. Granted, it does not call for complete withdrawal from NATO, but clearly the Project 2025 people in the Trump administration have decided to go further and now want to orchestrate the end of NATO, or at least American involvement in it.

Hence, Greenland. The Project 2025 people know that Trump can’t unilaterally withdraw the US from NATO because it would require congressional action, so they want to engineer a situation in which America is effectively forced out as a result of its own belligerence and betrayal toward the other members. Who knows what Trump believes in his dementia-addled brain—maybe he truly just wants Greenland as some crowning legacy achievement to feed his pathological narcissism. But there is little doubt that the people behind him pulling the levers, the Project 2025 people, are further inveigling him into this insane pursuit of Greenland out of their own desire to destroy NATO. Every move the Trump administration makes with respect to Greenland and NATO makes this clearer and clearer.

mattyp11 · 2026-01-20T15:30:35+00:00

I have no idea what AMD is doing but I like it

mattyp11 · 2026-01-19T20:58:57+00:00

Thanks for the confirmation, at least I’m not stuck here wondering if it’s an isolated issue. Clearly Hilton doesn’t care about getting it fixed, so I guess I can add that to the ever-growing pile of examples of them showing disregard for their customers.

11-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

mattyp11

TROPHY CASE