By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Bird Song of the Day
Winter Wren, Wayne, New York, United States.
Politics
“So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
The Constitutional Order (Insurrection)
“How Democrats Could Disqualify Trump If the Supreme Court Doesn’t” [The Atlantic]. “[State of Colorado lawyer Jason] Murray and other legal scholars say that, absent clear guidance from the Supreme Court, a Trump win could lead to a constitutional crisis in Congress. Democrats would have to choose between confirming a winner many of them believe is ineligible and defying the will of voters who elected him…. In interviews, senior House Democrats would not commit to certifying a Trump win, saying they would do so only if the Supreme Court affirms his eligibility. But during oral arguments, liberal and conservative justices alike seemed inclined to dodge the question of his eligibility altogether and throw the decision to Congress.” And: “As Republicans are fond of pointing out, Democrats have objected to the certification of each GOP presidential winner since 2000. None of those challenges went anywhere, and they were all premised on disputing the outcome or legitimacy of the election itself. Contesting a presidential election by claiming that the winner is ineligible, however, has no precedent.” And finally: “The scholars also warned that serious political instability and violence could ensue [if a Democrat Congress disqualified Trump]. That possibility was on Raskin’s mind, too. He conceded that the threat of violence could influence what Democrats do if Trump wins. But, [Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland] added, it wouldn’t necessarily stop them from trying to disqualify him. ‘We [who?] might just decide that’s something we need to prepare for.” • Oh. Maybe wargame it out?
“Judge orders former President Trump removed from Illinois primary ballot, but puts order on hold” [CBS Chicago]. “The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on the matter soon. If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Mr. Trump’s favor, most of the efforts to keep him off the ballot – in Illinois, Colorado, Maine, and elsewhere – would likely be tossed out. CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller pointed out the highest court has two cases regarding the former president, and said as a result, the Cook County court decision is ‘absolutely meaningless.’…. The case went before the Illinois State Board of Elections in January, but the board ruled it did not have the authority to remove Mr. Trump from the ballot. But a judge later gave the petitioners a green light to continue their effort to get Mr. Trump removed.” • Here is the opinion.
So again the Colorado opinion gets grandfathered in as a finding of fact. IANAL, let a alone a trial lawyer, but I’m not sure allowing that to happen was the Trump team’s smartest move ever.
“Cook County judge boots Trump from Illinois primary ballot” [Axios]. “[Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie R.] Porter immediately suspended the ruling until Friday, so votes for Trump will continue to be counted in Illinois this week as early voters cast ballots ahead of the March 19 primary.” • Porter is a Democrat.
Capitol Seizure
“The Pipe Bombs Before Jan. 6: Capital Mystery That Doesn’t Add Up” [Julie Kelly, RealClearInvestigations]. This is the most curious factoid for me: The presence of Kamala Harris at the DNC after the bomb had been placed: “Other aspects of the pipe bomb story started to raise eyebrows. After nearly a year of misleading judges and defendants, federal prosecutors revealed in late 2021 that Kamala Harris was at the DNC and not at the Capitol on Jan. 6; the government was forced to disclose her whereabouts to correct court filings that stated Harris was in the Capitol on the afternoon of Jan. 6. Harris left the Capitol following a Senate Intelligence Committee briefing and arrived at the DNC around 11:25 a.m. She remained inside the building until she was evacuated at 1:15 p.m. The timeline generated even more head-scratchers. How did her security detail, which included Secret Service agents and D.C. Metropolitan police officers, miss the device sitting in relatively plain view?” • Real life is messy; there are a lot of oddities; not everything adds up. But it does seem that in this story, there are things that should add up, but don’t (exactly as with the famous gallows).
2024
Less than a year to go!
Because you can’t tell the players without a score-card, here are case trackers for Trump. Summarizing: All criminal. Federal: Jack Smith, Florida (“Classified Documents”); Jack Smith, Washington, D.C. (“Election Interference). State: Fani Willis, GA (“Election Interference”); Alvin Bragg, NY (“Hush Money”).
Trump (R): “Trump Investigations: Tracking The Cases” [Associated Press]. • Very useful resourcs (multipage, tabbed, timelines, updated).
Trump (R): “Donald Trump cases: Tracking civil, criminal charges against former president” [FOX]. • A wrap-up, including the disqualification cases.
Trump (R): “Here’s where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House” [CTV]. This one’s from Canada! “From allegations of plotting to overturn a lost election to illegally stowing classified documents at his Florida estate, former U.S. president Donald Trump faces four criminal indictments in four different cities as he vies to reclaim the White House. The cases, totaling 91 felony counts, are winding through the courts at different speeds. Some might not reach trial this year, while one is set to begin in a matter of weeks.” • There are 91 felony counts because Jack Smith, in the Classified Documents case, charged Trump for each document.
Trump (R): “Supreme Court stalls Trump’s federal election trial while weighing his immunity bid” [Politico]. “Donald Trump’s federal trial for seeking to subvert the 2020 election is likely to remain on hold for several more months while the Supreme Court takes up his argument that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took while president. In a one-page order Wednesday, the court set an expedited schedule to hear the immunity issue, with oral arguments to be set during the week of April 22. In the meantime, proceedings in the trial court will remain frozen….. But the court’s decision to keep the pretrial proceedings frozen is a blow to special counsel Jack Smith’s effort to bring Trump to trial this year. Smith has charged Trump with four felonies stemming from his bid to subvert the 2020 presidential election…. The decision by the justices also places extra significance on the impending decision by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon regarding the schedule of Trump’s other federal criminal trial for hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Cannon is expected to reconfigure the timeline of that trial, currently set for May 20, after a day-long hearing on Friday…. In addition to his two federal criminal cases, Trump is facing state criminal charges in New York and Georgia…. Trump is set to go on trial March 25 in the New York case, over claims Trump falsified business records to cover up payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to women claiming sexual encounters with him. No trial date has been set in the Georgia case, where Trump is one of 15 defendants charged in a racketeering conspiracy to interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.”
Trump (R): “The Un-American Campaign against Donald Trump” [National Review]. Hopping on board the Trump train. Nevertheless, in the NY civil fraud case: “The prosecutor, New York attorney general Letitia James, wielded an incredibly broad statute meant to target consumer fraud. Executive Law 63(12) doesn’t require any finding of intent to commit fraud or illegality, or require actual victims. The judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, said it didn’t even matter whether Trump’s exaggerated valuations of his assets were relied on by anyone. It is, in short, the magic bullet of anti-fraud statutes and the perfect weapon in the hands of a politically motivated prosecutor looking for any reason to nail one specific person whom she and all her supporters passionately hate.” And the NY criminal case: “This is before Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg comes in with his criminal case, wherein the elected Democratic prosecutor has bootstrapped what should, at most, be a misdemeanor involving hush money paid to a porn star into 34 felony counts. Bragg’s fraud case, in what’s becoming a theme, doesn’t allege that anyone actually was defrauded, and was brought only after Bragg was criticized by allies for taking a pass on charges that, to quote Abraham Lincoln, are ‘as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death.’” And: “These prosecutors are acting as if they consider the famous speech by then–attorney general and future Supreme Court justice Robert Jackson not as a warning, but a road map. He called ‘the most dangerous power of the prosecutor’ that ‘he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted.’” • Not wrong!
Trump (R): “Judges in Trump-related cases face unprecedented wave of threats” [Reuters]. “As the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – and a defendant in four criminal cases alleging 91 felonies – Trump has fused the roles of candidate and defendant. He attacks judges as political foes, demonizes prosecutors and casts the judicial system as biased against him and his supporters. These broadsides frequently trigger surges in threats against the judges, prosecutors and other court officials he targets, Reuters found. Since Trump launched his first presidential campaign in June 2015, the average number of threats and hostile communications directed at judges, federal prosecutors, judicial staff and court buildings has more than tripled, according to the Reuters review of data from the Marshals Service, which is responsible for protecting federal court personnel. The annual average rose from 1,180 incidents in the decade prior to Trump’s campaign to 3,810 in the seven years after he declared his candidacy and began his practice of criticizing judges.” • No doubt, though we also don’t know if any of those calls are sh*tstirring by the Okhrana. How would we?
Trump (R): “Beyond shock and awe: Inside Trump’s potential second-term agenda” [Politico]. “Trump’s campaign has repeatedly dismissed media reports about his potential second-term agenda, saying in a statement in November that policy recommendations from his conservative allies ‘are certainly appreciated and can be enormously helpful’ but ‘are just that — recommendations.’ ‘Unless a second term priority is articulated by President Trump himself, or is officially communicated by the campaign, it is not authorized in any way,” the statement from campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said.” Good staffwork. More: “But both supporters and critics of the ex-president predict that a reelected Trump would wage a more focused and aggressive attack on the status quo. This time, they say, he would be far more knowledgeable about the mechanics of wielding executive power. Having placed so many conservatives in federal judgeships, he would face less resistance from the courts. And he would be more determined to place loyalists, not rules-obsessed traditionalists, in senior roles.” • Yeah, OMG, this time around we might actually pull our troops out of that colonial outpost in Syria…
Biden (D): “Exclusive: Hunter Biden sees his sobriety as key to keeping Trump from winning” [Axios]. “Hunter’s initial sobriety date was the day they married — May 17, 2019, the day before Joe Biden’s official campaign kickoff in Philadelphia. Hunter acknowledged in court last July that he had a ‘drink or two’ soon after, and said June 1 of that year was his official sobriety date.” • Big thumbs up. One day at a time. Sobriety is something I would never mock (and this is why, if Hunter Biden and that slippery little vat-grown scut Pete Buttigieg were facing off in a Democrat primary, I’d vote for Hunter. Hunter has lived, at least. Would I buy a used car from him? No.
Biden (D): “Defiant Hunter Biden defends business moves, invokes Kushner deals” [The Hill]. “[I]f Republicans were hoping to dig up the elusive evidence of financial wrongdoing to back their allegations, they didn’t seem to find it in the nearly seven hours of closed-door questioning with the president’s son…. Wednesday’s testimony marked the latest in a long series of closed-door depositions conducted by Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary committees as they scramble for proof to back their allegations that the president’s family conducted shady overseas business deals that leaned heavily on the powerful Biden name…. Despite Comer’s rosy assessment, Hunter Biden’s lackluster testimony appeared to be the latest setback in the House GOP’s floundering impeachment inquiry, which has struggled to present evidence substantiating various claims of financial misconduct by the president and his family. The biggest blow to the probe came earlier this month when the Justice Department indicted an FBI informant who was central to the GOP’s key claim — that Joe and Hunter Biden each received a $5 million bribe from Burisma. Authorities said the informant, Alexander Smirnov, fabricated those allegations, and he later told investigators he received information from “officials associated with Russian intelligence.””
Biden (D): “Biden critics look to replicate Michigan’s ‘uncommitted’ vote in other states” [The Hill]. “Meanwhile, a separate movement, Abandon Biden, is urging voters to reject the incumbent altogether. ‘When we say ‘abandon,’ it truly and without any trepidation implies ‘abandon.’ We completely abandoned him because he abandoned us,” said Hassan Abdel Salam, a professor at the University of Minnesota and a founding organizer of the #AbandonBiden National Coalition…. Abandon Biden campaigns launched earlier this month in Minnesota, which votes on Super Tuesday next week; Arizona, which votes in mid-March; and Pennsylvania, which votes in late April. The movement also has its eyes on New Jersey and North Carolina, Salam said…. But with ‘uncommitted’ an option in just a few other states — including Washington, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee — the Great Lakes State’s results will be hard to replicate, said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.”
Biden (D): “Joe Biden Should Endorse Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Step Aside” [Newsweek]. “Why Whitmer? For one thing, she would be the first female president, and it’s about time. She would not be hobbled by the baggage of Hillary Clinton, and has executive experience, a centrist mindset, decency, relative youth, and evident intelligence…. A pragmatic and bipartisan approach, track record of results, and lack of glaring absurdities, make her the ultimate anti-Trump.” • First trial balloon for Big Gretch in the national media! Be still, my beating heart….
“How No Labels’ Spoiler Bid Suddenly Entered Full Meltdown Mode” [The New Republic]. “No Labels faces a problem that runs deeper than the lack of high-profile candidates willing to take the third-party plunge: The group’s core argument has proven impossible to sustain, and everyone paying even cursory attention to its activities knows it. For months, as No Labels has sought to secure a line on ballots in as many states as possible—the group claims 16 as of now—its officials have sworn vehemently that they have no intention of mounting a candidacy that only functions as a spoiler or helps Trump. Joe Lieberman, the group’s founding chairman, often says as much. The true intention, it says, is to answer the public’s alleged call for an alternative to the two parties with a “unity ticket” that will birth a new coalition of public-spirited voters who value bipartisan compromise over petty partisanship and dysfunction. But no matter how hard No Labels strains to project such pious intentions, the all-but-certain impact of such a plan has proven impossible to disguise. It is borderline impossible for such a bid to win outright in enough states to assemble a majority of 270 Electoral College votes—Ross Perot and Ralph Nader won none; the last third-party candidate to win any electoral votes was George Wallace, 56 years ago.” • And Joe Manchin was their last, best hope?
CA: “California’s Primary Could Fell Prominent Dems, Elevate Newcomer: [Banning-Beaumont Patch]. “California’s Senate race was expected to be a three-way Democratic prizefight, but the possibility of a record-low turnout is elevating the chances of Republican Steve Garvey, a former baseball star, and could derail the congressional careers of two prominent progressives…. After the death of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in September, all [Porter, Schiff, and Lee] entered the race… Presidential elections usually drive Democratic turnout in California, but that hasn’t been the case this year, with President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump on track for a second matchup in which both are viewed unfavorably by many voters. ‘This is a low-interest, low-turnout kind of election cycle. That generally creates an electorate that is older, more conservative, whiter,’ said Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., a research firm that closely tracks voting trends and works with Democrats, independent candidates and academics. While the dynamic could shift by the time primary voting ends, Mitchell said it’s possible that Garvey ends up with the highest total as the Democratic candidates splinter votes on the left.”
Republican Funhouse
“The insider’s guide to the McConnell succession race” [Politico]. “The Kentucky Republican isn’t stepping aside until November, but three potential heirs have long loomed large in the Hill’s calculus. Somewhat confusingly, all three are white men named John: Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), former whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).”
Realignment and Legitimacy
“The two-party doom loop” [Boston Globe]. “The US electoral system needs a more modern system of representation — proportional representation, which elects multiple representatives in each district in proportion to the number of people who vote for them — to better represent both the diversity and pluralism of the nation and, more practically, to allow for more shifting coalitions that could find creative compromises on issues like immigration…. By contrast, winner-take-all systems like the United States’ are associated with higher levels of polarization and a greater risk of political violence. Re-legalizing fusion voting — where multiple political parties can nominate the same candidate on the ballot — would also be a powerful step toward a multiparty democracy and would allow for a uniquely American version of proportional representation within the context of existing single-winner elections.”
“Poll: Almost a Third of Americans Say the First Amendment Goes ‘Too Far’” [Reason]. “The survey also asked respondents to read a dozen controversial statements and pick the one they found most offensive. The most disliked beliefs were that ‘all whites are racist oppressors,’ followed by statements like ‘America got what it deserved on 9/11’ and ‘January 6th was a peaceful protest.’ The survey then asked respondents whether they’d agree with allowing this opinion to be expressed in different circumstances. Half of the respondents said that their community ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ should not permit a public speech expressing the opinion they found most offensive. A whopping 69 percent said a local college should ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ not allow a professor who holds such an opinion to teach there. Over a quarter of respondents said that someone who previously said the offensive opinion should be fired from their job. These results indicate that though the average American is concerned about protecting free speech rights, a significant portion of the population seem poised to welcome increasing censorship.” • Maybe Biden could pick up a few votes by making liberal Democrat pro-censorship views explicit? The believe it, why not run on it?
“Fetterman condemns ‘recreational cruelty’ toward Boebert family” [Washington Examiner]. • Which I think speaks well of him, even if he’s unsound on policy.
WI: “Assembly leaders concede Michael Gableman violated records laws during fruitless 2020 election review” [Journal-Sentinel]. “MADISON – Assembly officials have admitted former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman violated public records laws while taxpayers paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars to probe the 2020 election — an investigation that did not turn up any evidence to question President Joe Biden’s victory…. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired Gableman to review the 2020 election and has since said he regrets doing so. Gableman accrued more than $2.5 million in costs to taxpayers and a steady drumbeat of explosive court hearings and rulings in lawsuits over Gableman’s desire to jail election officials and mayors who refused to be interviewed behind closed doors, and his decision to ignore requests from the public for records related to his probe.” • Bumptious!
#COVID19
“I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, but national data). “Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts” (especially on hospitalization by city).
Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put “COVID” in the subject line. Thank you!
Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur d’Alene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard); PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV (wastewater); WY (wastewater).
Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).
Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).
Stay safe out there!
Sequelae
“Neuroimaging findings in children with COVID-19 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis” [Nature]. Systematic review and meta-analysis. From the Discussion: “Our findings reveal that a substantial proportion of pediatric COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms exhibit abnormal neuroimaging findings, with 43.74% of children in the included studies demonstrating such abnormalities. These findings underscore the importance of considering neurological complications in the management of pediatric COVID-19 cases.”
“Cognition and Memory after Covid-19 in a Large Community Sample” [New England Journal of Medicine]. N = 112,964. “In this large community-based study, we found that Covid-19 was associated with longer-term objectively measurable cognitive deficits. The difference of approximately −0.2 SD in the global cognitive score in the groups of participants who had symptoms that had resolved, as compared with the no–Covid-19 group, is classified as “small” according to Cohen’s effect sizes24; this deficit would equate to a difference of −3 points on a typical IQ scale, in which 1 SD equals 15 points. Participants with unresolved persistent symptoms had a greater mean difference of approximately −0.4 SD.” And: “Multiple findings indicated that the association between Covid-19 and cognitive deficits attenuated as the pandemic progressed. We found smaller cognitive deficits among participants who had been infected during recent variant periods than among those who had been infected with the original virus or the alpha variant. We also found a small cognitive advantage among participants who had received two or more vaccinations and a minimal effect of repeat episodes of Covid-19. Furthermore, the cognitive deficits that were observed in participants who had been infected during the first wave of the pandemic, when the original virus was predominant, coincided with peak strain on health services and a lack of proven effective treatments at that time, and the probability of hospitalization due to Covid-19 has progressively decreased over time.” • A 3-point IQ drop isn’t nothing, let alone a 6-point drop, especially if the effect is cumulative (Author Elliott argues not). I’d also note that the data comes from “an online assessment of cognitive function.”
“‘Brain fog’ is one of Covid-19’s most daunting symptoms. A new study measures its impact” [STAT]. “Researchers from Imperial College London found that even people who recovered from their Covid symptoms in four to 12 weeks had the equivalent of an IQ score three points lower than in uninfected people. Among those with long Covid — defined as symptoms lasting more than 12 weeks after testing positive — the drop was six IQ points.” But: “[senior study author Paul Elliott, chair of epidemiology and public health medicine at Imperial College London], who is also director of the REACT program, sees hopeful signs in the new study results. First, as the pandemic progressed from the original virus to Omicron, the association between symptoms and cognitive deficits weakened. Second, around a third of people with persistent cognitive symptoms saw them resolve. ‘The important thing is that if they had persistent symptoms and then those symptoms resolved, they looked cognitively like the other people who’d had Covid, the short-duration people,’ he said. ‘I think it’s encouraging that if once it resolves and you no longer report symptoms, then basically you look much more like everybody else who’d had Covid, rather than looking like the people who’ve still got ongoing symptoms.’” • The finding that the brain fog is not cumulative is interesting, but I’d like to see at least speculation on a mechanism? Why would that be?
Elite Maleficence
Amazing to me that WHO hasn’t deleted this atrocity. But maybe reporting it will do the trick:
Maybe Dr. John Conly threatened to resign if the tweet didn’t stay up. Can’t have that. He’s essential!
No backsies!
The King of Sweden:
– This country’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is a failure“I think we have failed. We have a large number who have died and that is terrible. It is something we all suffer.”
The Public Health Agency:
“Pneumonia is the old man’s best friend.” pic.twitter.com/sop4iCHv60— Smittskydd (@Smittskydd) February 26, 2024
The Jackpot
“A pandemic that won’t go away – as COVID enters its 5th year, NZ needs a realistic strategy” [The Conversation]. “It wasn’t meant to be like this. The main wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic swept through New Zealand in eight weeks, killing 9,000 people – almost 1% of the population. Then it was largely gone, returning as a new seasonal flu virus. In doing so, it defined how pandemics were expected to behave. This model was written into pandemic plans and collective thinking across the globe. But COVID is still circulating four years after New Zealand reported its first case, and more than two years after the Omicron variant arrived and infection became widespread. Constantly present, it is also occurring in waves. Unexpectedly, the current fifth wave was larger than the fourth, suggesting we can’t rely on the comforting assumption that COVID will get less severe over time…. In the face of this continuing pandemic threat, we need a response that is evidence-informed rather than evidence-ignored.” • In what sense is serial passage through the entire population combined with a policy of mass infection without mitigation not a “realistic strategy”? If depopulation is your goal, it’s entirely so.
TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts
LEGEND
1) ★ for charts new today; all others are not updated.
2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and “open image in new tab.”
NOTES
[1] (Biobot) Biobot drops, conformant to Walgreen positivity data (if that is indeed not a data artifact). Note, however, the area “under the curve,” besides looking at peaks. That area is larger under Biden than under Trump, and it seems to be rising steadily if unevenly.
[2] (Biobot) Regional separation re-emerges.
[3] (CDC Variants) “As of May 11, genomic surveillance data will be reported biweekly, based on the availability of positive test specimens.” “Biweeekly: 1. occurring every two weeks. 2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly.” Looks like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, they’re telling us variants are nothing to worry about. Time will tell.
[4] (ER) Does not support Biobot data. “Charts and data provided by CDC, updates Wednesday by 8am. For the past year, using a rolling 52-week period.”
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Not flattening.
[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Still down. “Maps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updates weekly for the previous MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Department Visits, Test Positivity) and weekly the following Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET†”.
[7] (Walgreens) That’s a big drop! It would be interesting to survey this population generally; these are people who, despite a tsunami of official propaganda and enormous peer pressure, went and got tested anyhow.
[8] (Cleveland) Flattening, consistent with Biobot data.
[9] (Travelers: Posivitity) Down, albeit in the rear view mirror.
[10] (Travelers: Variants) About time for something to challenge JN.1. But what’s “other”? Something to look forward to, I guess!
Stats Watch
Inflation: “United States Core PCE Price Index MoM” [Trading Economics]. “Core PCE prices in the US, which exclude food and energy, increased by 0.4% from the previous month in January 2024, the most since February 2023 and in line with market expectations. It follows a downwardly revised 0.1 percent increase in December. Core PCE prices rose by 2.8% from the previous year, the least since March 2021 and slowing from 2.9% in December.”
Personal Income: “United States Personal Income” [Trading Economics]. “US personal income rose by 1% month-over-month in January 2024, up from 0.3% in the prior month and largely exceeding market forecasts of a 0.4% advance. It was the strongest increase in personal income in a year, primarily reflecting increases in government social benefits, personal income receipts on assets, and compensation. The increase in government social benefits was led by social security benefits, reflecting a 3.2% cost-of-living adjustment, and other government social benefits, primarily reflecting an increase in Affordable Care Act enrollments. The increase in personal income receipts on assets was led by an increase in personal dividend income, reflecting information from company financial statements.”
Employment Situation: “United States Initial Jobless Claims” [Trading Economics]. “The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US jumped by 13,000 to 215,000 on the week ending February 24th, rebounding sharply from the five-week low in the earlier period and firmly above market expectations of 210,000.”
Manufacturing: “United States Kansas Fed Manufacturing Index” [Trading Economics]. “The Kansas City Fed’s Manufacturing Production index surged to 3 in February 2024, marking its highest point since August 2023, a significant improvement from the -17 recorded in January.”
Manufacturing: “United States Chicago PMI” [Trading Economics]. “The Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, fell further to 44 in February 2024 from 46 in the prior month and below market forecasts of 48.”
Tech: “Malicious AI models on Hugging Face backdoor users’ machines” [Bleeping Computer]. “At least 100 instances of malicious AI ML models were found on the Hugging Face platform, some of which can execute code on the victim’s machine, giving attackers a persistent backdoor. Hugging Face is a tech firm engaged in artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning (ML), providing a platform where communities can collaborate and share models, datasets, and complete applications. JFrog’s security team found that roughly a hundred models hosted on the platform feature malicious functionality, posing a significant risk of data breaches and espionage attacks. This happens despite Hugging Face’s security measures, including malware, pickle, and secrets scanning, and scrutinizing the models’ functionality to discover behaviors like unsafe deserialization.” • Who the heck thought “Hugging Face” was a good name, and why? A realistic name, sure….
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 79 Extreme Greed (previous close: 78 Extreme Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 78 (Extreme Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 29 at 1:22:26 PM ET.
News of the Wired
“A Social History of Jell-O Salad: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon” [Serious Eats]. “[F]ew foods can tell us more about life in 20th-century America than the wobbling jewel of domestic achievement: the Jell-O salad…. Jell-O tapped into one of the biggest culinary currents of the era: domestic science, also known as home economics. Food historian Laura Shapiro, in her sweeping study Perfection Salad, explains that, around the turn of the century, many women in the emerging American middle class began linking the changes brought into their homes by industrialization and scientific advances—gas stoves, electric irons, the telephone—to the domestic work they performed every day and reimagining housework. This spirit of domestic reform embraced efficiency, purity, cleanliness, and order. Instant gelatin fit the bill. It was fast, unlike the traditional method of making gelatin. It was economical: A housewife could stretch her family’s leftovers by encasing them in gelatin. And, since sugar was already included in the flavored mixes, the new packaged gelatins didn’t require cooks to use up their household stores of sugar. It was also neat and tidy, a quality much valued by the domestic-science movement as well as by its Victorian forebears, who were mad for molded foods of all kinds, says Belluscio. Jellied salads, unlike tossed ones, were mess-free, never transgressing the border of the plate: ‘A salad at last in control of itself,’ Shapiro writes. Cooks in this era molded everything from cooked spinach to chicken salad, with care to avoid the cardinal sin of messiness.” • As long as there aren’t any marshmallows!
Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From JM:
JM writes: “Winter evening, one of the stately trees of Duke’s East Campus, looking west.”
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