Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 9/10

[SVPete]

Mark Kelly Actually Expects Us to Believe This Story?

https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/09/10/mark-kelly-really-expects-us-to-fall-for-this-the-internet-says-absolutely-not-n4957074

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) wants you to believe that a fellow passenger recognized him mid-flight, tracked the exact second he got up to use the restroom, and composed and slipped a handwritten note into his seat before he made it back. It's a cute story, and no one seems to believe it.

Kelly posted the tale on X Wednesday evening, saying he found a pencil note on a napkin while flying from Boston to Phoenix. "On a flight from Boston to Phoenix and this note was in my seat when I returned from the restroom," Kelly wrote. "I think this shows how much an entire generation is struggling."

He shared a photo of the note.

"I'm 25 years old with a college degree, 4 years into my career, and I'm just barely scraping by," it read. "I cannot see myself ever being able to afford kids or a home. Everyday, a financially secure future feels farther and farther out of reach. Please fight for affordable housing and health care. I am quite literally begging you."

Fictional .

[SVPete]

New Jersey’s Plot To Bankrupt Gun Manufacturers Dealt Blow By Federal Court

https://dailycaller.com/2026/09/09/firearms-manufacturers-score-big-win-in-court-against-blue-state/

An 18-month legal battle swung in a pro-Second Amendment direction Tuesday after a federal appeals court ruled against New Jersey’s scheme to threaten firearm manufacturers with bankruptcy.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied New Jersey’s effort to block a suit by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) against a law allowing the state to sue gun stores and firearm manufacturers in an opinion released Tuesday. The three-judge panel consisting of two Trump appointees and a Clinton appointee on senior status ruled that the six lawsuits the state had filed under A1765, a 2022 law that targeted the firearms industry, gave the trade group standing to challenge the law.

[SVPete]

NJ Lt Gov Under Investigation Over Illegal Voters and Sexual Harassment

https://www.frontpagemag.com/nj-lt-gov-under-investigation-over-illegal-voters-and-sexual-harassment/

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherril covered up an investigation into Lt. Gov Dale Caldwell over alleged sexual misconduct and ethics issues that had been going on since late spring.

Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell is the subject of an internal investigation by Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office for alleged inappropriate behavior with women and possible ethics violations that include the purported offer of state jobs, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.

Now that the story has leaked, Gov. Sherril is in full ‘cannot confirm or deny’ mode.

“The Governor would take any reports of inappropriate behavior or misconduct extremely seriously and expects our public officials to hold themselves to the highest standards. We cannot confirm or deny potential personnel matters,” Sean Higgins, chief spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement to NBC News.

When asked about it, Sherril gave a generic answer while trying to duck the issue.

How is this an HR issue when Caldwell is an elected, not a hired, official?

[SVPete]

Minnesota’s Own Auditor Just Explained How $36 Million Slipped Through

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/09/10/minnesotas-own-auditor-just-explained-how-36-million-slipped-through-n4957093

Sekou Dukuly had quite a résumé. He was running Liberia's government-owned port system while remaining the licensed director of three Minnesota group homes more than 5,000 miles away.

From APM Reports:

In 2024, at a ceremony in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, an emcee praised the business acumen of Sekou Dukuly, the newly installed director of the West African nation’s government-owned port system.

Dukuly had been “delivering multimillion-dollar profit increases everywhere he worked,” the emcee said.

Dukuly didn’t make his money in international shipping, however. He cashed in on Minnesota’s booming group home industry.

Minnesota companies linked to Dukuly collected at least $36 million in taxpayer funds over the past 10 years, according to Minnesota Open Checkbook, a state website that provides transparency in government spending. Dukuly has had a hand in businesses that have run at least two dozen group homes, almost all in the northwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities. The state issued licenses and paid Medicaid dollars for those businesses to provide care and supervision to Minnesotans, typically those with mental illnesses or physical disabilities.

But an investigation by MPR News and its national investigative unit, APM Reports, shows that Dukuly’s financial success has come at a human cost, with multiple instances of residents being neglected and even dying in group homes linked to him. And the money has gone into bank accounts tied to alleged financial schemes in Minnesota and abroad — raising questions about the state’s oversight of the group home industry and the billions of dollars that have flowed into it.

Bureaucratic incuriosity, on multiple levels.

[SVPete]

California Dropped a Medi-Cal Safeguard. He Drove $269 Million Through the Gap.

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/09/10/california-dropped-a-medi-cal-safeguard-he-drove-269-million-through-the-gap-n4957099

Paul Randall found a weak spot in California's Medi-Cal prescription system and attacked it with breathtaking speed. In just 11 months, he caused more than $269.1 million in fraudulent claims to be submitted. Medi-Cal paid about $178.7 million before the ride ended.

On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced the 67-year-old Orange County man to 30 years in prison and ordered him to repay $178,746,556. Randall pleaded guilty in April to wire fraud committed while he was already out on release in another federal criminal case.

From the DOJ:

“Paul Randall exploited a temporary change in Medi-Cal’s prescription drug reimbursement system to steal millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars meant to help California’s most vulnerable residents,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message to those who would abuse our public benefit programs to line their own pockets: The Fraud Division will aggressively prosecute you and seek to hold you accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”

“This case exposes unbridled greed at the expense of patients and taxpayers. Stealing funds meant for essential care and corrupting medical decisions through kickbacks is deeply harmful and erodes trust in our health care system,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue those who exploit federal health care programs and ensure they are held fully accountable.”

Medi-Cal is a Federally funded state-administered program. The Feds, not the State of California, prosecuted the fraudster. Over a quarter of a billion $$ of fraud, and the State of California merely assisted the DOJ's investigation.