By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Bird Song of the Day
American Robin, Voice of America Game Land, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States.
In Case You Might Miss…
(1) Bragg’s theory of the case:: section 17-152.
(2) Sodium batteries.
(3) Google ranking big media sites using AI-generated content, destroying small sites.
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
Biden Administration
“IRS says its number of audits is about to surge. Here’s who the agency is targeting” [CBS]. “The IRS has been bolstered by $80 billion in new funding directed by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was signed into law in 2022 by President Joe Biden. The idea behind the new funding was to help revive an agency whose ranks have been depleted over the years, leading to customer service snarls, processing delays and a falloff in audit rates…. Werfel noted that the IRS’ strategic plan over the next three tax years include a sharp increase in audits, although the agency reiterated it won’t boost its enforcement for people who earn less than $400,000 annually — which covers the bulk of U.S. taxpayers. ‘There is no new wave of audits coming from middle- and low-income [individuals], coming from mom and pops. That’s not in our plans,’ Werfel said. But by focusing on big corporations, complicated partnerships and wealthy people who earn over $10 million year, the IRS wants to send a signal, he noted. ‘It sets an important tone and message for complex filers, high-wealth filers, that this is our focus area,’ he said.”
2024
Less than a year to go!
★ RCP Poll Averages, May 3:
National results now moving Trump’s way. But some of the Swing States (more here) are now moving Biden’s way, including Michigan and Wisconsin, which is no doubt why Trump visited them on his day off. Pennsylvania, OTOH, just leaned to Trump. Of course, it goes without saying that these are all state polls, therefore bad. Now, if either candidate starts breaking in points, instead of tenths of a point….
Trump (R): (Bragg/Merchan): “Old, unused, and ‘twisty’ — meet the obscure NY election-conspiracy law that just might get Trump convicted” [Business Insider]. Very important. “At Donald Trump’s hush money trial on Tuesday, a Manhattan prosecutor surprised law nerds in the audience by revealing that ‘the entire case’ rests on a single section of New York’s election law.” This is (allegedly) the “other law” Trump broke that converts the business records misdemeanors into felonies. Here it is:
More: “Business Insider asked two veteran New York election-law attorneys — one a Republican, the other a Democrat — about the law, also known as ‘Conspiracy to promote or prevent election.’ Neither one could recall a single time when it had been prosecuted. Two highly respected law professors specializing in New York election law said the same…. However, while the two attorneys were highly skeptical of the DA’s newly focused strategy, the two election law professors told BI they were confident it would lead to a conviction. Sure, 17-152 has never been used before, they said. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work now that the dust has been blown off…. [Jeffrey M. Wice, who teaches state election law at New York Law School] noted that two judges — Merchan and Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, a Manhattan federal judge who rejected Trump’s attempt to move the hush-money case to federal court — upheld the use of 17-152 in this case.” But wait! There’s more! “[W]hat if that underlying crime is section 17-152 — conspiring to mess with an election through ‘unlawful means?’ Things will get “twisty,” [Brooklyn attorney and former Democratic NY state Sen. Martin Connor] said, when prosecutors try to show that Trump’s falsified business records are felonies because of an underlying crime — 17-152 — that itself needs proof of a conspiracy to do something ‘unlawful.’ ‘You’re having an underlying crime within an underlying crime to get to that felony,’ Connor told BI. ‘It’s novel,” he said with a laugh. ‘It’s novel,” he repeated. Section 17-152 needs its own underlying criminal conspiracy, he said. ‘Two or more conspiring to elect or defeat a candidate — that’s the definition of every political campaign,’ he joked. ‘It’s only when you conspire to do it by unlawful means that you violate this law.’ Having an election-conspiracy statute like 17-152 on the state election-law books makes little sense, he said. ‘It would appear to cover something like three people getting together and saying, ‘Let’s break into our opponent’s headquarters and destroy all his equipment,’ Connor said.” • Seems complicated. So, if the business records part of the case is a conspiracy, and section 17-152 requires a conspiracy — the same one? a different one? — why not just charge Trump with 17-152 alone? To convert misdemeanors into felonies, that’s why. No other reason. That’s pretty seamy, if you ask me, despite a gaggle of New York State Democrats nodding their heads vigorously in unison about how important it is to serve the interests of justice, etc.
Trump (R) (Bragg/Merchan): “How Hope Hicks went from Trump confidante to key prosecution witness” [Politico]. “While Trump cycled through a number of top advisers, who rose and fell in his favor, Hicks was a near constant. Her title was senior communications adviser, but that belied her importance. Her real job, those who worked with her say, was to manage Trump. Her office was right outside the Oval Office, a reflection of her importance to the former president.”
Trump (R) (Bragg/Merchan): “‘This was a crisis’: Hope Hicks testifies about Trump campaign response to Access Hollywood tape – live” [Guardian]. “Hope Hicks testifies that she reached out to Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker after receiving the Wall Street Journal email requesting comment about a story it planned to publish about American Media buying the rights to a story of Karen McDougal of an affair she had with Donald Trump when he was married to Melania. Hicks says Cohen ‘feigned that he didn’t know what I was talking about’ and that ‘there was a reason why I called David [Pecker] next.’ She says Pecker explained that McDougal was paid for magazine articles and fitness columns and that it was all very legitimate and that was what the contract for.’ The prosecution asked Hope Hicks about the days following the Access Hollywood tape’s release. Hicks explained, on direct, that he was asked about the comments a few days later, during the second presidential debate. He reiterated that this was locked room talk – just talk – words, not actions. The words-not-actions mantra is incredibly important for prosecutors. If Trump thought his best chances for surviving the Access Hollywood scandal was to claim that it was just talk – and that he wasn’t an actual boor – then he had to cover up allegations of misconduct. And, after the debate, when reports of Trump’s alleged misconduct surface, the campaign was in panic-mode – providing a motive for Cohen’s purchase of Daniels’ story.” • To (a) win the election, (b) protect Melania, and/or (c) protect the Trump brand (important to Trump’s image). I guess we’ll have to see which motive predominated. CNN has a second play-by-play.
Trump (R) (Bragg/Merchan): “The Secret Tape That Will Roil the Trump Trial” [New York Magazine]. “[T}apes are the prosecutor’s best friend — usually. But when Michael Cohen secretly recorded a phone call with his own client Donald trump in September 2016, he created a piece of evidence that could become a key part of Trump’s defense in his ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan. It’s not all bad news for the prosecutors, of course. The tape confirms an important pillar of the district attorney’s case: Trump plainly knew about and approved of hush money payments to women with whom he had allegedly had sexual dalliances years before. But that was never seriously in dispute. Trump’s lawyer conceded as much during his opening statement. Remember that the crime here is not payment of hush money — it’s falsification of business records around those payments to evade campaign-finance laws. The crime, in other words, lies in the accounting behind the hush-money payments. And Cohen’s tape casts doubt on a central element that the prosecution must prove to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt: that Trump was involved in the fraudulent scheme to structure reimbursements to Cohen to make the hush-money payments look like legal expenses.” • Oh.
Trump (R) (Bragg/Merchan): “Week 3 of Trump’s Hush-Money Trial Reaches Its Explosive Finale’ [Daily Beast]. “Cohen’s voice was heard in court with the playing of a tape that Cohen himself secretly made. The September 2016 recording captured Cohen talking with Trump about a plan to buy McDougal’s story from the Enquirer in order to bury it for good. Cohen could be heard saying on the recording that he’d spoken to Allen Weisselberg, the then-CFO of the Trump Organization, about ‘how to set the whole thing up with funding,’ according to the Associated Press. ‘What do we got to pay for this?’ Trump said in response. ‘One-fifty?’ The tape was played after Douglas Daus, a forensic analyst in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, was called to the stand. Daus testified about data he helped to extract from Cohen’s phones that were handed to authorities during the investigation.” • But that doesn’t speak to the business records part (“set the whole thing up” is pretty vague).
Trump (R): “SEC charges Trump Media auditor with ‘massive fraud’ on hundreds of companies, imposes lifetime ban” [CNBC]. “The auditing firm for Trump Media
and the auditor’s owner were charged Friday with ‘massive fraud’ by the Securities and Exchange Commission for accounting work that affected more than 1,500 SEC filings, the federal regulator announced. The auditor, BF Borgers CPA and its owner Benjamin Borgers have agreed to be permanently suspended from practicing as accountants before the SEC, and also agreed to pay a combined $14 million in civil penalties, without admitting or denying the allegations, the SEC said. The agency, calling BF Borgers a ‘sham audit mill,’ said the company and its owner ‘deliberately systematically failed to conduct’ in accordance with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board standards audits and quarterly reviews incorporated in more than 1,500 SEC filings from January 2021 through June 2023. The SEC said the Lakewood, Colorado-based auditor lied to clients by saying its work complied with PCAOB standards, fabricated audit documents to make it seem that the work did comply with those standards, and falsely claims in audit reports included in more than 500 public company SEC filings that the firm’s audits complied with such standards.”
Biden (D): “Biden says ‘order must prevail’ during campus protests over the war in Gaza” [Associated Press]. “‘Dissent is essential for democracy,’ Biden said at the White House. ‘But dissent must never lead to disorder.’… Biden’s team has expressed confidence that his stance appeals to the widest array of voters. It also echoes his approach to nationwide unrest after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer four years ago, a politically volatile situation in the middle of his campaign against then-President Donald Trump. ‘I want to make it absolutely clear rioting is not protesting, looting is not protesting,’ Biden said then in remarks that his team turned into an advertisement. ‘It’s lawlessness, plain and simple, and those that do it should be prosecuted.’” • So maybe Biden can make a campaign ad out of this, too!
Biden (D): “Sanders: Protests ‘may be Biden’s Vietnam’” [The Hill]. “‘[Former President] Lyndon Johnson in many respects was a very, very good president. Domestically he brought forth some major pieces of legislation. He chose not to run in ’68 because of opposition to his views on Vietnam, and I worry very much that President Biden is putting himself in a position where he has alienated, not just young people, but a lot of the Democratic base, in terms of his views on Israel and this war,’ Sanders said.” • Biden is betting on “restoring law and order” better than Trump (or Kennedy) can do.
Biden (D): “Young Democrats warn Biden he must quickly change course” [The Hill]. “”He will lose the election if he decides to roll the dice and assumes that Gaza isn’t at the top of minds right now,” said Elise Joshi, the executive director of Gen-Z for Change —which was once run under the name TikTok for Biden. Joshi added that the last six months have seen ‘an increasing pace of concern’ about the president. The crisis in Gaza has been a tipping point for many young voters, and some polls have shown support dissolving for Biden. Last month, a Harvard Youth Poll showed Biden’s support from voters ages 18-29 had slipped from about 60 percent in 2020 down to 45 percent. A CNN poll last weekend also revealed that Biden was 11 percentage points behind Trump in a head-to-head match-up among young voters.” • I doubt very much the youth vote going to move from BIden to Trump over Gaza. Biden’s play here is “They’ve got no place to go” (“Oh, you love Trump?”).
PA: “Biden’s natural gas pause could complicate Pennsylvania strategy” [The Hill]. “The Biden administration’s pause on natural gas exports is putting the president in a tricky political spot in Pennsylvania, one of the key swing states in November. Pennsylvania has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the last decade’s natural gas boom in the U.S. … The administration earlier this year halted new export permits for liquefied natural gas (LNG) while it analyzes their impact on climate change, something that Republicans are sure to pounce on in a state where Biden is not only running neck and neck with former President Trump, but also where Democrats are looking to hold onto a critical Senate seat…. ‘If I’m President Biden or his campaign team, I’m not terribly concerned — natural gas is important in Pennsylvania, but this issue — there have been political fights going back 15 years over this issue,’ [Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic strategist] said. ‘I think people who feel strongly one way or another have already picked a side.’”
Realignment and Legitimacy
“More than 2,100 people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses” [Associated Press]. “Police have arrested more than 2,100 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, authorities disclosed Thursday.” And on UCLA: “The confrontations at UCLA also played out over several days this week. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block told alumni on a call Thursday afternoon that the trouble started after a permitted pro-Israel rally was held on campus Sunday and fights broke out and ‘live mice’ were tossed [by Zionists] into the pro-Palestinian encampment later that day. In the following days, administrators tried to find a peaceful solution with members of the encampment and expected things to remain stable, Block said. That changed late Tuesday, he said, when [Zionist] counterdemonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment. Campus administrators and police did not intervene or call for backup for hours. No one was arrested that night, but at least 15 protesters were injured. The delayed response drew criticism from political leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and officials pledged an independent review. ‘We certainly weren’t thinking that we’d end up with a large number of violent people [i.e., the Zionists], that hadn’t happened before,’ Block said on the call. By Wednesday, the encampment had become ‘much more of a bunker’ and there was no other solution but to have police dismantle it, he said.” • I added some notes to clarifiy agency issues. The counter-demonstrators at UCLA strike me as uniquely nasty (fortunately).
Pandemics
“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
Covid 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!
Look for the Helpers
“SoCal’s COVID-cautious: Fighting isolation along with the virus” [KCRW]. “‘We’re going to make a big circle,’ Mahler explains. ‘We’re going to go up to the San Fernando Valley over to Eagle Rock, and then back down through Mid-City to where we are now.’… Mahler makes these Odyssian treks across Southern California every month. It’s part of her work with Mask Bloc LA, a volunteer group dedicated to getting COVID tests and masks into the hands of Angelenos — all free of charge….. The grassroots group is one of several that have popped up in LA and Southern California, united around one goal: to mitigate the spread of COVID. They’re extensions of a global community of cautious folks continuing to take proactive steps to prevent infection in a post-pandemic world where others seem to no longer care about the virus… Being COVID-cautious is different for everyone, from how much protective gear they wear to what risks they’re willing to take. Some folks remain vigilant because they’ve already caught the virus and know the damage it causes. Others, however, are among the nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults and older teens who the CDC estimates have never had COVID — and they want or need to keep it that way.” • 1 in 4 is a pretty amazing statistic, when you think about all the obstacles (and when you consider that you can rule out brain damage and loss of executive function due to Covid for [allow me to break out my calculator] 333,000,000 * 25% = 83,250,000 people. That’s a lot).
Testing and Tracking
“Blood transcriptomic analyses reveal persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA and candidate biomarkers in post-COVID-19 condition” [The Lancet]. N = 48. “With an estimated 65 million individuals affected by post-COVID-19 condition (also known as long COVID),1 non-invasive biomarkers are direly needed to guide clinical management. To address this pressing need, we used blood transcriptomics in a general practice-based case-control study. …. 212 genes were identified to be differentially expressed between individuals with long COVID and controls (figure A), of which 70 remained significant after adjustment for false discovery rate correction…. Upon summarising transcriptomic results into biological pathways, we found significantly decreased immunometabolism in individuals with long COVID, which was negatively correlated with the blood viral load… In conclusion, the associations among persistent viral RNA, immunometabolism, and patient-reported outcomes provide mechanistic insights for addressing the challenges posed by long COVID.” • If true, very good news. (Recall that NIH blew a billion dollars on Long Covid without looking for biomarkers at all.)
“Influenza and RSV Wastewater Monitoring in the U.S. | Week of April 29, 2024” [Biobot]. “We want to share the information that we have at the moment on the rapidly evolving H5N1 influenza virus situation. Biobot’s influenza A assay detects the H5N1 influenza subtype, which is an influenza A virus, but does not distinguish between the different subtypes of influenza A (e.g., H5N1 vs. H1N1). While we are not seeing a widespread increase across the country in influenza A virus in the recent week, we are seeing a slight uptick in influenza A concentrations in the South.” • So Verily is ahead. That’s depressing.
Sequelae: Covid
“What do we know about covid-19’s effects on the gut?” [BMJ]. “[Sheena Cruickshank, immunologist at the University of Manchester] says, ‘One of the reasons for the gut symptoms may be that the ACE2 receptors that the virus uses to enter and hijack cells are found on our gut epithelial cells. We know that viral RNA has been isolated from stool samples, although this may not be infectious.’ This evidence was gathered early in the pandemic from studies in China, which found SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool samples from patients in hospital. More recent research5 has confirmed that faecal shedding of viral RNA happens in around half of covid patients and that this is associated with GI symptoms. Stephen Griffin, virologist at the University of Leeds, explains why we shouldn’t be surprised that so many people experience GI symptoms. He says, ‘The receptor for SARS-CoV-2, ACE2, is widely expressed within the blood vessels and lining of the gut, and we know that the virus can be detected, recovered from, and sequenced both in stool samples and in wastewater from the environment—which is an excellent, real time way to monitor infections and genetic variability.’ Once the virus is in the gut it interacts with ACE2, increasing the production of inflammatory cytokines and damaging the mucous membrane barrier. In severe cases this inflammation can result in ulceration of the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum, but more commonly it causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, and diarrhoea.” • The more you know….
“Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in platelets and megakaryocyte in Post-acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (Long COVID)” (poster) [Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections]. “In Long COVID, SARS-CoV-2 persists and replicates in [megakaryocytes (MKs)] that in turn produce platelets containing virus. Circulating spike might be an additional sign of viral persistence that could serve as a Long COVID biomarker. The persistence of the virus could lead to abnormal platelet activation and formation of microclots, contributing to the various symptoms observed in Long COVID and to deregulation of serotonin uptake, favoring bneurocognitive symptoms found in long COVID.” • Over my paygrade. Perhaps readers will comment. (NOTE There seems to be a controversy over whether, in Long Covid, the virus persists, or whether only viral fragments persists.)
Treatment: Covid
“Favorable Antiviral Effect of Metformin on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Viral Load in a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Coronavirus Disease” (abstract only) [Clinical Infectious Diseases]. “In this randomized, placebo-controlled trial of outpatient treatment of SARS-CoV-2, metformin significantly reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral load, which may explain the clinical benefits in this trial. Metformin is pleiotropic with other actions that are relevant to COVID-19 pathophysiology.” • Pleiotropic = producing more than one effect. Sadly, the article is paywalled, so I can’t track down a usage example.
Elite Maleficence
Maskless Mandy does a happy dance:
Honored to be featured by #TIME100HEALTH along with so many incredible leaders + innovators! @CDCGov is working every day to protect health & improve lives through stronger data, clear & fast communications, and breaking down silos to work as one team. https://t.co/klVxZJV2Z2
— Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) May 2, 2024
It really takes chutzpah to pat yourself on the back for “stronger data” one day after you shut down mandatory reporting of Covid cases in hospitals.
“Covid lessons remain unlearned as avian flu infects cattle, hospitals say” [Politico]. “Still, hospital officials told POLITICO they’re dismayed that they don’t feel better prepared, just four years after Covid-19 caught them unawares. They’re not confident that the health care system — including the government agencies that have wound down Covid responses — can avoid the missteps around tests, bed space and communication that plagued the last public health emergency, should this strain of flu, H5N1, become more of a threat… Trust in health systems also remains battered from the Covid wars over lockdowns, masks and vaccines. ‘One big limiting factor’ in vaccinating the public, were it to become necessary, ‘would be whether or not people actually take it,’ [Dr. George Diaz, an infectious disease specialist at Providence health in Washington state] said. ‘The Covid pandemic taught us a lot of lessons, but also harmed us.’ And if a lockdown were needed again? ‘Society right now — It’s not a consideration,’ [Dr. Bruce Farber, chief public health and epidemiology officer at Northwell Health, New York’s largest hospital system,] said. ‘The politics are such that it will never happen.’” • Of course, one Covid lesson would be mandatory universal masking throughout healthcare facilities. That seems to be a lesson hospitals haven’t learned.
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) Our curve has now flattened out at a level far above valleys under Trump. Not a great victory. Note also 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) No backward revisons….
[3] (CDC Variants) KP.2 has entered the chat, at least in the model. 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) CDC seems to have killed this off, since the link is broken, I think in favor of this thing. I will try to confirm. UPDATE Yes, leave it to CDC to kill a page, and then announce it was archived a day later. And heaven forfend CDC should explain where to go to get equivalent data, if any. I liked the ER data, because it seemed really hard to game.
[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Flattening out to a non-zero baseline. I suppose to a tame epidemiologist it looks like “endemicity,” but to me it looks like another tranche of lethality.
[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) Leveling out.
[8] (Cleveland) Slight uptrend.
[9] (Travelers: Posivitity) Flattens.
[10] (Travelers: Variants) JN.1 dominates utterly. Still no mention of KP.2
[11] Looks like the Times isn’t reporting death data any more? Maybe I need to go back to The Economist….
Stats Watch
Employment Situation: “United States Unemployment Rate” [Trading Economics]. “The unemployment rate in the United States edged up to 3.9% in April 2024 from 3.8% in the previous month and surprising market expectations, which had forecasted the rate to remain unchanged.”
Tech: “Lithium-free sodium batteries exit the lab and enter US production” [New Atlas]. “Two years ago, sodium-ion battery pioneer Natron Energy was busy preparing its specially formulated sodium batteries for mass production. The company slipped a little past its 2023 kickoff plans, but it didn’t fall too far behind as far as mass battery production goes. It officially commenced production of its rapid-charging, long-life lithium-free sodium batteries this week, bringing to market an intriguing new alternative in the energy storage game. Not only is sodium somewhere between 500 to 1,000 times more abundant than lithium on the planet we call Earth, sourcing it doesn’t necessitate the same type of earth-scarring extraction. Even moving beyond the sodium vs lithium surname comparison, Natron says its sodium-ion batteries are made entirely from abundantly available commodity materials that also include aluminum, iron and manganese. Furthermore, the materials for Natron’s sodium-ion chemistry can be procured through a reliable US-based domestic supply chain free from geopolitical disruption. The same cannot be said for common lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel.” • Hmm. Readers, thoughts?
Tech: “HouseFresh has virtually disappeared from Google Search results. Now what?” [HouseFresh]. • Too much detail for me to summarize, but it really frosts me that Google has competely crapified air purifier reviews with AI-generated bullshit, given that air purifiers play useful irole during airborne pandemics.
Tech: “Google, DOJ return for closing arguments” [The Hill]. “Google’s main defense is that its search engine is better.” • Lol. Dude, come on.
Manufacturing: “Whistleblower Joshua Dean, who raised concerns about Boeing jets, dies at 45” [NPR]. “”This was his first time ever in a hospital,” [his mother, Virginia Green] said. ‘He didn’t even have a doctor because he never was sick.’ But within days, Dean’s kidneys gave out and he was relying on anECMO life support machine to do the work of his heart and lungs. The night before Dean died, Green said, the medical staff in Oklahoma did a bronchoscopy on his lungs. ‘The doctor said he’d never seen anything like it before in his life. His lungs were just totally … gummed up, and like a mesh over them.’ Green says she has asked for an autopsy to determine exactly what killed her son. Results will likely take months, she said. ‘We’re not sure what he died of,’ she said. ‘We know that he had a bunch of viruses. But you know, we don’t know if somebody did something to him, or did he just get real sick.’” • So the autopy results. Something to watch for.
Manufacturing: “Boeing Promotes Mysterious Employee Known Only As ‘The Panther’” [The Onion]. “‘The entire Boeing family would like to extend a big congratulations to The Panther, who has recently proven that his loyalty to this company truly knows no bounds,’ said Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who described The Panther’s role as ‘a little bit operations, a little bit corporate security, a little bit human resources.’”
Taxes: As an indicator. Interesting:
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 40 Fear (previous close: 36 Fear) [CNN]. One week ago: 42 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated May 3 at 1:31:16 PM ET.
Class Warfare
“Beyond The Binary Of Race And Class” [Historical Materialism]. A really interesting review of this topic, well worth studying. “There have been many efforts to create ‘a new socialist mode of production’ by transforming or abolishing the ‘free market’, but it would be hard to argue that they put an end to racial discrimination. Neither the Social Democratic welfare states, which sought to restrain the free market, nor ‘revolutionary’ regimes in the USSR, China or Cuba which got rid of it, can claim to have abrogated discrimination based on race and gender. The history of the past 100 years indicates that there is no assurance that targeting the ills of a market economy based on private ownership of the means of production translates into overcoming racialised ways of seeing and relating to others – especially since those who imbibe the norms of a racist society often includes progressive whites.” I have to grab a cup of coffee and return to this. But note this amazing statement: “Marx restructured Capital on the basis of the impact of the events during in the U.S. during the Civil War” (and as readers know, Marx reported on the Civil War, I believe for the New York Herald.
News of the Wired
“Welcome to theunderground” [The Underground]. “theunderground.blog is an experimental blog that is only available to read through a feed reader.” • Interesting idea. A similar approach–
“Forget WhatsApp and Messenger, contact me via my website” [Dissociated]. “I’m a Blogger now. I stay on my website. That’s something that should be printed on t-shirts. When I catch up with friends, they ask me: ‘how’s disassociated going?’ Then a few minutes later, ‘oh, and are you on Whatsapp by any chance?’ Sometimes I’d like to respond by saying, ‘well, I don’t need a messaging app, because you know you can reach me through my website. You know, the same one that predates Facebook, most of the social networks, and messaging apps.’ But I don’t. I just shake my head. And it can’t be all that bad after all. Some of my friends live interstate and overseas, and we still manage to meet in person when in each other’s respective places of residence, hassle free. All without the need to involve messaging apps, aside from some texts. If you’re an avid user of messaging apps — go for it — don’t let me dissuade you.” • Two straws in the wind; I don’t know if this approaches zeitgeist status, though.
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 TH:
TH writes: “Desert wildflower: Browneyes or brown-eyed primrose; Chylisma claviforms. This is one of the wildflowers in front of our house in the Mojave Desert.” Painterly!
Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldn’t see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for three or four days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:
Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:
If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!