jerrymahoney

Paul Winchell was very talented -- not only the voice of the dummy but he invented an artificial heart with the assistance of Dr. Henry Heimlich (inventor of the Heimlich maneuver) and held an early US patent for such a device.

OK Top Cat aka Arnold Stang.

From https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/insurance MEDICAL ASSISTANCE COMPANY DIRECT BILLING CONTRACT

Fine. My income is monthly.

OUR TOMATOES Every tomato in every bottle of Heinz Ketchup sold in the U.S. is grown in America by passionate people dedicated to growing high-quality, non-GMO tomatoes, many of who have farmed with us for generations. https://www.heinz.com/sustainability

I had CIGNA Global for about 5 years. Then I moved to Ubon Ratchathani where they had no direct pay with any of the 3 private hospitals. They said, even if I had a large procedure, I would have to pay first and then be reimbursed but MAYBE they could work something out. I said forget it and changed insurer.

Bumrungrad lists their direct pay insurers here: https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/insurance Your insurer should be able to tell you which hospitals in Thailand with whom they do have direct pay agreements.

-- Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' hits another snag in House as conservative caucus raises red flag -- Two House Freedom Caucus members are warning a key procedural vote could fail Published June 30, 2025 2:22pm EDT Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are warning they have serious issues with the Senate's version of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as it's currently written. The group of GOP rebels argued in a public statement on Sunday that the Senate bill adds $1.3 trillion to the federal deficit, whereas the House-passed bill would increase the federal deficit by $72 billion. "Even without interest costs, it is $651 billion over our agreed budget framework," the statement read. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-freedom-caucus-targets-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-concerns-about-budget-deficit

NY Times headline now: -- Here Are the Republican Senators Who May Revolt on Trump’s Bill -- Senate Republicans can afford to lose no more than three of their own votes on the bill, but two already are opposed and others remained undecided.

I waited almost a year to my next extension to get it done -- I wasn't leaving the Kingdom, and I just carried 2 passports for air travel/hotels. I would say it is not a good idea to try to get the extension in passport transfer and the new extension on the same day.

Not a big deal:

At Ubon Ratchathani it was required.

I presume the invoice request was, so they have something in writing from the US Embassy now that the embassy does not give a "Please transfer ..." letter with the new passport.

AI quickie: In most chili cook-offs, chili does not contain beans. Traditional competition chili, especially that judged by organizations like the International Chili Society (ICS), is defined as meat (or a combination of meats) cooked with chili peppers, spices, and other ingredients, but without beans or other fillers like pasta or rice.

At Ubon, I was asked for a copy of the invoice for $130 I received online from the US Embassy/Bangkok for the new passport to transfer the existing extension to the new passport.

Kagan will get to vote on this one. NY Times headline 29 JUN 2025: -- Appeals Court to Consider Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act -- The case before one of the most conservative courts in the country is likely to be the first * to reach the Supreme Court. NB this was the case that SCOTUS 7-2 sent back to the 5th Circuit, New Orleans. * Meaning the first Immigration/ Alien Enemies Act case.

This is the language from the House Bill that was excluded by the Senate Parliamentarian: SEC. 70302. RESTRICTION ON ENFORCEMENT. No court of the United States may enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), whether issued prior to, on, or subsequent to the date of enactment of this section.

From Texas: If you know chili with beans, you don't know beans about chili.

But as of now the judge can set the bond requirement at zero. Ensuring the Enforcement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) The White House March 11, 2025 Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to demand that parties seeking injunctions against the Federal Government must cover the costs and damages incurred if the Government is ultimately found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. Federal courts should hold litigants accountable for their misrepresentations and ill-granted injunctions. There is a provision in the current bill: ... including an assessment of the number, frequency, and related metrics of judicial orders issuing non-party relief against the Federal Government and their aggregate cost impact on the taxpayers of the United States, as determined by each court when imposing securities for the issuance of preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders against the Federal Government pursuant to rule 65(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. ________________ The reason there is not a more stringent requirement in the current bill is due to the Byrde rule. _

Senate Judiciary's updated megabill text omits provision limiting judicial powers Chair Chuck Grassley released his committee's updated text late Friday night. 06/27/2025 11:52 PM EDT The Senate Judiciary Committee released its updated text for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” late Friday night, which omitted some provisions that Democrats had sought to strip from the bill. The text, notably, did not include a section that would have limited the ability of federal courts to issue preliminary injunctions or temporary restraining orders against the U.S. if a bond had not been posted. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough had ruled that the provision violated the so-called Byrd Rule, which limits what can pass as part of the reconciliation process by a simple majority. Excerpt from https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025/06/senate-judiciarys-updated-megabill-text-omits-provision-limiting-judicial-powers-00430646

As of now THIS is the law: 8 U.S. Code § 1401 - Nationals and citizens of United States at birth U.S. Code The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth: (a) a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof; The Trump Executive Order "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:" only offers a new interpretation thereof and sets new policy at Sec. 2 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/

From May 13, 2025 SCOTUS Oral arguments birthright citizenship: (Sauer) The government hasn't taken a position on that. Our position is not that class certification will necessarily be granted. Our position is that Rule 23 is how these sorts of claims should be channeled. Justice Kavanaugh (42:44): And you think, I think you just said it's very possible that class certification may be granted? General Sauer (42:50): It is possible.

Trump adversaries see silver linings in his ‘monumental’ Supreme Court win Class actions and other legal strategies may allow Trump’s opponents to keep pursuing broad blocks against at least some of his policies. 06/27/2025 But Barrett’s 26-page opinion leaves a surprising degree of wiggle room. Yes, conventional nationwide injunctions are off the table, but Trump’s opponents say they see alternative routes to obtain effectively the same sweeping blocks of at least some policies that run afoul of the law and the Constitution. The court appeared to leave open three specific alternatives: Restyle the legal challenges as class-action lawsuits; rely on state-led lawsuits to obtain broad judicial rulings; or challenge certain policies under a federal administrative law that authorizes courts to strike down the actions of executive branch agencies. The viability of these three potential alternatives is not yet clear. But the court explicitly declined to rule them out. That led Justice Samuel Alito — who joined the majority opinion — to write a concurrence to raise concerns that the court was leaving loopholes that could undercut its main holding. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/27/trump-supreme-court-birthright-injunction-loopholes-00430225

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION Therefore, Plaintiffs ask the Court to Grant Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification; certify a Rule 23(b)(2) class of “all children who have been born or will be born in the United States on or after February 19, 2025, who are designated by Executive Order 14,160 to be ineligible for birthright citizenship, and their parents;” allow the complaint to proceed on a classwide basis; and appoint counsel from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project as class counsel.

OK. To note: Matthew Kacsmaryk serves the Amarillo division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, which encompasses 26 counties in the Texas Panhandle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Kacsmaryk