By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Chicken Music of the Day
Lark-like Bunting, Akkerendam Nature Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa.
* * *
Politics
“So most of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are actually a rational administration of symbolic capital.” –Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles
Biden Administration
“Debt-ceiling standoff: With key assembly Tuesday, right here’s what may go right into a bipartisan deal” [MarketWatch]. “Biden, in the meantime, sounded open to clawing again some unspent COVID-relief funds as he took questions from reporters following his assembly on Could 9 with the highest 4 lawmakers. ‘We don’t want all of it,’ Biden stated. ‘I’ve to take a tough take a look at it. It’s on the desk.””• Anyone keep in mind Undertaking NextGen, that was going to develop some new vaccines, particularly nasal vaccines, and PPE? The budgeting for it was all the time sus:
The $5 billion for the hassle got here after HHS was directed by the White Home to shift funds for coronavirus testing, private protecting gear and different priorities, The Submit studies.
How a lot you wish to wager that $5 billion will get thrown into the deficit discount pot, as a substitute of saving lives?
2024
I suppose it’s time for the Countdown Clock!
* * *
“Biden calls white supremacy ‘most harmful terrorist menace’ in speech at Howard” [Politico]. • Yeah, sheesh, the RussiaGate perps who organized to overturn 2016’s election consequence. Not a Black face amongst them. Wypipo, completely. String ’em up!
“The Kamala Harris query” [Financial Times]. “Pretty or not, few suppose Harris may beat Donald Trump. Because of this, Democrats and far of the ‘mainstream’ media are working off an invisible memo that tells them to keep away from speaking about Biden’s age. This can not final. Overlook Republicans and independents: a majority of Democratic voters suppose Biden, who will flip 81 in November, mustn’t run for a second time period. Meaning the vice-president shall be an unusually large issue subsequent yr. To those that say a operating mate’s reputation by no means alters US election outcomes, there are two responses. First, historical past is a ineffective information. It has twice informed us that Trump couldn’t be the Republican nominee. That appears heading in the right direction to being twice disproved. The second consists of two phrases: Sarah Palin. I defy any US political scientist to place their hand on coronary heart and say Palin’s presence on the ageing John McCain’s ticket didn’t hurt his probabilities towards Barack Obama in 2008 — particularly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Both manner, Republicans, corresponding to Nikki Haley, one in every of subsequent yr’s presidential contenders, have made it clear Harris would be the goal. ‘In the event you vote for Joe Biden you actually are relying on a President Harris,” Haley stated lately.” And: “The extra publicity she is given now the higher. Harris must be ready to be president. Biden picked her in 2020. Now he should spend money on her.” • Can’t we regard Harris as a sunk value, in spend money on methods of getting her off the ticket?
“Trump is attacking DeSantis exhausting on coverage, amid the flurry of insults” [Reuters]. “Amid the headline-grabbing insults and name-calling, Donald Trump is pursuing a surprisingly policy-heavy technique to wreck his closest Republican rival Ron DeSantis earlier than he enters the presidential race, in response to a Reuters evaluation of the previous president’s statements since he introduced his White Home bid. Forty p.c of Trump’s assaults on the Florida governor have focused points corresponding to Social Safety, the government-run Medicare well being program for older Individuals, international coverage and DeSantis’ report in workplace. 5 political analysts who reviewed Reuters’ findings stated the technique marks a pointy distinction with Trump’s first run for president in 2016, when he received the Republican nomination with chaotic ways based mostly largely on private insults leveled at his opponents. ‘This time it’s clear that Trump is altering the way in which he does this by hitting tougher on the coverage stuff,’ stated David Gergen, a non-partisan analyst who has suggested one Democratic and three Republican presidents.”
“9 Methods Vivek Ramaswamy Can Beat Donald Trump, In keeping with Andrew Yang” [Politico]. 9! Fancy that! However that is really good recommendation: “Early in my marketing campaign, somebody stated to me, “Folks can inform if you happen to’re having time.” And if you happen to’re having time, it rubs off on these round you. A variety of the opposite Republican candidates appear depressing. Their messages are of anger, grievance and despair. You may specific emotion and urgency with out being a drag to take heed to or be round. You may out-positive different candidates, and that may appeal to voters who’re uninterested in politicians’ fire-and-brimstone speeches.” • I don’t know if I’d name Trump a “blissful” candidate. Gleeful, maybe. After all, happiness isn’t the emotion one most associates with skilled wrestling. Or The Apprentice, for that matter.
Democrats en Déshabillé
Affected person readers, plainly persons are really studying the back-dated submit! However I’ve not up to date it, and there are lots of updates. So I should do this. –lambert
I’ve moved my standing remarks on the Democrat Celebration (“the Democrat Celebration is a rotting corpse that may’t bury itself”) to a separate, back-dated submit, to which I’ll periodically add materials, summarizing the addition right here in a “reside” Water Cooler. (Hopefully, some Bourdieu.) It seems that defining the Democrat Celebration is, actually, a tough drawback. I do suppose the paragraph that follows is on level all the way in which again to 2016, if not earlier than:
The Democrat Celebration is the political expression of the category energy of PMC, their base (lucidly defined by Thomas Frank in Hear, Liberal!). It follows that the Democrat Celebration is as “unreformable” because the PMC is unreformable; if the Democrat Celebration didn’t exist, the PMC must invent it. If the Democrat Celebration fails to manipulate, that’s as a result of the PMC lacks the potential to manipulate. (“PMC” modulo “class expatriates,” in fact.) Second, all of the working components of the Celebration reinforce one another. Depart apart characterizing the relationships between parts of the Celebration (ka-ching, however not solely) these parts comprise a community — a Flex Web? An iron octagon? — of funders, distributors, apparatchiks, electeds, NGOs, and miscellaneous mercenaries, with belongings within the press and the intelligence group.
Observe, in fact, that the category energy of the PMC each expresses and is proscribed by different lessons; oligarchs and American gentry (see ‘industrial mannequin’ of Ferguson, Jorgensen, and Jie) and the working class spring to thoughts. Suck up, kick down.
* * *
Realignment and Legitimacy
“Durham proves that Hillary and the FBI tried to rig the 2016 election” [New York Post]. Fairly proper. Although I’ve to say that the FBI didn’t provide the one personnel from the organs of state safety concerned on this little challenge. I’m wondering what a cautious reader of the Durham report would discover suggesting CIA and NSA involvement. I imply, was signing a letter the one factor putatively retired spooks like Clapper and Morrell did? I’m guessing no. And can the FBI be sad about being the whipping boy? Extra importantly, will they share their unhappiness with others? Not that I’m foily! Extra: “CIA chief John Brennan briefed President Barack Obama and different high officers on ‘alleged approval by Hillary Clinton on July 26, 2016, of a proposal . . . to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by Russian safety companies.’” • It could be irresponsible to not speculate….
“Eight Takeaways From the Durham Report” [Susan Schmidt, Racket News]. “A fast learn revealed the next key takeaways: 1 There was no legitimate predicate for the investigation, and the FBI knew it. 2. ‘There’s nothing to this, however now we have to run it to floor.’ 3. ‘It’s skinny’; ‘There’s nothing to this.’ 4. The Trump marketing campaign investigation was premised on ‘uncooked, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence,’ and U.S. intel businesses possessed no ‘precise proof of collusion’ when the probe started. 5. Sensational tales revealed within the New York Instances in February and March 2017 claiming Trump associates had been in touch with Russian intelligence brokers had been false. 6. FBI Director James Comey pushed closely for an investigation of Carter Web page, beginning in April 2016 when Web page was a authorities witness in an espionage investigation of Russian diplomats in New York. 7. On the route of the FBI, confidential human supply Stefan Halper recorded prolonged conversations with Carter Web page and George Papadopoulos, during which every denied the marketing campaign had any involvement with Russian officers. 8. Durham was extremely essential of the FBI’s ‘startling and inexplicable failure’ to research the so-called ‘Clinton Intelligence Plan.’”
#COVID19
“I’m in earnest — I cannot equivocate — I cannot excuse — I cannot retreat a single inch — AND I WILL BE HEARD.” –William Lloyd Garrison
Assets, United States (Nationwide): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; consists of many counties); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); “Iowa COVID-19 Tracker” (in IA, however nationwide information).
Lambert right here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. We at the moment are as much as 50/50 states (100%). That is actually nice! (It happens to me that there are makes use of to which this information is likely to be put, past serving to folks with “private danger assessments” acceptable to their state. For instance, pondering pessimistically, we would keep the checklist and see which states go darkish and when. We would additionally tabulate the properties of every web site and search for variations and commonalities, for instance the usage of GIS (an train in Federalism). I don’t that CA stays somewhat sketchy; it feels somewhat odd that there’s no statewide web site, however I’ve by no means been capable of finding one. Additionally, my working assumption was that every state would have one web site. That’s turned out to not be true; see e.g. ID. Trivially, it means I must punctuate this checklist correctly. Much less trivially, there could also be extra native websites that must be added. NY metropolis in NY state springs to thoughts, however I’m positive there are others. FL additionally springs to thoughts as a particular case, as a result of DeSantis will likely be a Presidental candidate, and IIRC there was some foofra about their state dashboard. Thanks once more!
Assets, United States (Native): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater studies); 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).
Assets, Canada (Nationwide): Wastewater (Authorities of Canada).
Assets, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usées); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).
Hat tricks to useful readers: Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (9), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (5), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, sq. coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Utah, Bob White (3).
Keep protected on the market!
* * *
Search for the Helpers
“Household sues manufacturing corporations after man dies from COVID whereas engaged on American Horror Story” [CBS]. Just a little too on-the-nose. Extra: “The household of an East Bridgewater man who died from COVID-19 after working within the filming challenge of the American Horror Story collection, filed a federal wrongful demise lawsuit towards three Hollywood manufacturing corporations. Paul Woodward drove a passenger van, transporting forged and crew to and from the set of the present filmed in Provincetown in February and March of 2021, earlier than vaccines had been broadly out there to the general public. His household alleges that Twentieth Century Fox, Ryan Murphy Productions, and the Walt Disney Firm didn’t observe their very own COVID security protocols. ‘He was given a van that didn’t have a spit protect. There was no plexi-glass barrier separating him from all of the passengers. One was requested. The request was denied,’ stated Lawyer Jonathan Candy of Keches Regulation Group who’s representing the household. Candy says masking and social distancing protocols within the van had been additionally not adhered to.” • Some form Rhode Islander wants to offer Keches Regulation Group a name and clarify that plastic shields don’t work towards an airborne virus (and we don’t wish to enshrine the thought in precedent, both, or droplet dogma). Masking, nonetheless, works. Extra lawsuits, please!
Sanity in Washington, DC:
#KeepMasksInHealthCare
We’re proud to nonetheless put on our masks in our workplace. Safety from COVID is not only for the *weak as we’re ALL weak to COVID and lengthy COVID.
We have now additionally protected one another and been capable of keep open if one in every of us has gotten COVID! https://t.co/AigRM4ZzCD pic.twitter.com/BdYtzJsNIo
— Ida Bergstrom, MD (@DCDoc33) Could 16, 2023
Covid Is Airborne
And so is wildfire smoke:
Wildfire smoke from the boreal forest has arrived right here in Southern SK. All 5 of our Corsi-Rosenthal packing containers are operating at house. They undoubtedly make a distinction to air high quality. pic.twitter.com/wfqbRA9eoQ
— Adithya Ramachandran (@AdithyaR_YXE) Could 17, 2023
SK = Saskatchewan.
“New CDC Requirements of Air Hygiene” [John Snow Project]. “Along with advising individuals who have “signs of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, corresponding to cough, fever, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea” to remain home1, the CDC additionally really useful that kids over the age of two put on masks each time attainable. This isn’t shocking as a result of because the CDC notes, “COVID-19 could cause critical well being issues, so it’s extra essential than ever to guard your baby’s well being.’” • CDC additionally recommends “5 or extra air modifications per hour (ACH) of fresh air to rooms in your constructing.” • The draft ASHRAE commonplace is restricted to constructing kind and infrequently greater:
Utilizing commonplace densities from 62.1 at full occupancy, I’ve transformed these charges into air modifications per hour and what CO2 degree you’d anticipate to have if out of doors air was the one instrument used (it will not be, however that is only for reference). 3/5 pic.twitter.com/9zQxGWVsII
— Joey Fox (@joeyfox85) Could 12, 2023
Maskstravaganza
I don’t learn about this explicit tech, however I share Wu’s view:
The truth that now we have people nonetheless tinkering on these items, quietly and meticulously filling spreadsheets with info from particle counters on what really works, it actually is without doubt one of the few issues left that provides me hope.
If there Powers That Be/the general public ever has the… https://t.co/gODESjN5Na
— Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) Could 17, 2023
The quantity of citizen engineering happening with masks is astounding. Solely good can come of this.
Transmission
On the debacle of youngsters’s Covid, a superb thread:
The very best-kept secret of the pandemic is that in 2020 these below the age of 5 (5), kids, really had >NEGATIVE< extra deaths
In different phrases, fewer kids below the age of 5 died in 2020 than usually die in any given yr
This turned the inspiration of a lethal lie pic.twitter.com/0IB3cKPXjO
— Gregory Travis. Make colleges #DavosSafe (@greg_travis) Could 17, 2023
Non-pharmaceutical interventions labored. So, naturally, policy-makers stated “We’re accomplished,” and turned them off (assuming good religion, in fact):
The consequence was catastrophic
As a result of kids had been believed to be resistant to COVID, colleges returned to unsafe “in-person” instruction, masks had been dropped & vaccinations had been prohibited
The consequence?
Fifty million kids had been contaminated in six months from Nov 2021 by way of Mar 2022 pic.twitter.com/ZcgJ0wwPGm
— Gregory Travis. Make colleges #DavosSafe (@greg_travis) Could 17, 2023
Sequelae
“Melancholy hits new excessive amongst Individuals, per survey” [STAT]. “The Gallup survey of greater than 5,000 adults in late February signifies that despair, already labeled a disaster amongst kids amid Covid-19 shutdowns and social media use, is far more widespread. Melancholy charges have sharply risen amongst ladies and Black and Hispanic folks particularly. Greater than 36% of girls report that a physician has recognized them with despair of their lives, in comparison with 20.4% of males, with despair charges amongst youthful folks outpacing that of older respondents. Whereas white folks traditionally have reported the very best despair charges, Black and Hispanic adults at the moment are reporting related figures. Gallup researchers stated that whereas ladies sometimes report greater despair charges than males, a lot of the current surge may very well be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic. Girls disproportionately misplaced their jobs or exited the workforce to care for household. Girls additionally account for two-thirds of the well being care workforce, which has struggled with staffing shortages and the psychological toll of the Covid-19 emergency. The survey didn’t break respondents out by occupation. ‘The those who had been hoping that the psychological well being disaster brought on by Covid would cease when Covid stops shall be dissatisfied,’ stated Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer of the Nationwide Alliance on Psychological Sickness. Nonetheless, Duckworth additionally instructed a possible constructive from the survey outcomes: maybe extra persons are reporting despair as a result of cultural stigma across the analysis has declined.” •
Science Is Popping
“SARS-CoV-2 evolution within the absence of selective immune pressures, ends in antibody resistance, interferon suppression and phenotypic variations by lineage” (preprint) [medRxiv]. Mouse research. “The persistence of COVID-19 is partly attributable to viral evolution decreasing vaccine and remedy efficacy. Serial infections of Wuhan-like SARS-CoV-2 in Balb/c mice yielded mouse-adapted sstrains with higher infectivity and mortality. We investigated if passaging unmodified B.1.351 (Beta) and B.1.617.2 (Delta) 20 instances in K18-ACE2 mice, expressing human ACE2 receptor, in a BSL-3 laboratory with out selective pressures, would drive human health-relevant evolution and if evolution was lineage-dependent. Late-passage virus induced extra extreme illness, at organism and lung tissue scales, with late-passage Delta demonstrating antibody resistance and interferon suppression.” • If I’m deciphering this research accurately, it exhibits that SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t essentially evolve to be milder (opposite to a type of speaking factors that immediately and mysteriously seems within the zeitgeist).
“Reinfections and Cross-Safety within the 1918/19 Influenza Pandemic: Revisiting a Survey Amongst Male and Feminine Manufacturing unit Employees” [International Journal of Public Health]. “Among the many whole of n = 820 manufacturing unit employees, 50.2% reported influenza-related sickness in the course of the pandemic, nearly all of whom reported extreme sickness. Amongst male employees 47.4% reported an sickness vs. 58.5% of feminine employees, though this is likely to be defined by various age distribution for every intercourse (median age was 31 years previous for males, vs. 22 years previous for females). Amongst those that reported sickness, 15.3% reported reinfections. Reinfection charges elevated throughout the three pandemic waves. Nearly all of subsequent infections had been reported to be as extreme as the primary an infection, if no more. Sickness in the course of the first wave, in the summertime of 1918, was related to a 35.9% (95percentCI, 15.7–51.1) protecting impact towards reinfections throughout later waves.” • One other delusion: Reinfection is milder.
Coverage
Ought to anyone examine in on Canada, and see how they’re doing?
“Medical doctors, lecturers, activists name for elimination of high Vancouver physician from her position over COVID-19 claims” [CTV News]. “[Protect Our Province BC] is blasting [Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical officer Dr. Patricia Daly for encouraging listeners to think of COVID-19 ‘like other respiratory viruses, especially the coronaviruses that cause common colds.’ In its open letter, the group points out that there have been at least 12 studies to date that link COVID-19 infections to later diabetes diagnoses. PoP BC also linked to a CTV News Vancouver article that covers the latest study, in which the provincial health officer acknowledged the long-term impacts COVID can have on different body organs. ‘It’s not just affecting the lungs,’ said Dr. Bonnie Henry. ‘We know it can lead to heart disease, we know that people who have post-COVID symptoms have things like neurological issues, they have fatigue and brain fog and some of the other things that we have seen are related to things like diabetes.’ The group is also pushing back against Daly’s claim that, between high rates of vaccination and infections, B.C. has a strong hybrid immunity, meaning the population is protected against severe COVID-related illness and death. PoP BC describes this claim as ‘unsubstantiated.’ During her May 5 interview, Daly also made comments about young people being at low risk from COVID-19, and said the risk of experiencing severe illness and death from that virus versus the common cold is about the same for people living in long-term care homes. PoP BC’s letter disputes both of those claims, as well as ones Daly made about long COVID, post-COVID conditions, the efficacy of face masks and the availability of antiviral agents being available to the public. ‘Dr. Daly’s public statements are not based in science and they minimize the real risks of COVID-19 infections,’ the letter reads. ‘We expect public health leaders not to negligently misrepresent the accumulating scientific evidence related to SARS-CoV-2. We expect these authorities to protect all British Columbians who still put their trust in provincial public health leaders, not put them at risk of harm.’” • Too much even for Bonnie Henry!!!!!
“Third COVID-19 outbreak in three weeks declared at Burnaby Hospital” [BurnabyNow]. “Upon declaring the outbreak, Fraser Well being instantly carried out precautions on the web site, together with enhanced cleansing to guard the well being of all employees, medical employees, and sufferers,” an announcement learn.” • Enhanced cleansing. I actually deprecate that “Please kill me” trope, as a result of that’s one thing I don’t wish to recommend, even in jest, however there are occasions…
* * *
“College students are more and more refusing to go to highschool. It’s changing into a psychological well being disaster” [USA Today]. “[Jayne] Demsky sought assist from educators, docs and counselors, making an attempt to know what was stopping her son from going to highschool for almost a yr. Lastly, a psychiatrist informed Demsky a couple of situation that impacts a rising variety of college students with extreme anxiousness: faculty avoidance. ‘It was virtually like a revelation,’ she informed USA TODAY. College avoidant conduct, additionally referred to as faculty refusal, is when a school-age baby refuses to attend faculty or has problem being at school for the whole day. A number of psychological well being specialists informed USA TODAY it has turn out to be a disaster that has gotten worse because the COVID-19 pandemic.” • Look, simply because colleges are demise traps crammed with an airborne Degree 3 pathogen isn’t any purpose to keep away from them! (And depart it to the PMC to invent a medicalizing time period for it. I’m wondering if there’s a drug for SAB. Soma, perhaps?)
Elite Maleficence
“Macroeconomic penalties of the COVID-19 pandemic” [Economic Modelling]. “The evaluation of the decomposition revealed that the biggest losses from COVID had been related to the obligatory closure of companies and the sluggish reopening course of, adopted by the avoidance of office and different actions by households. Whereas deaths and sicknesses resulted in a minimal decline in actual GDP…” lol … “primarily as a result of decline in demand brought on by the declining inhabitants, the rise in demand for well being care led to an increase in actual GDP. Pent-up demand is a big issue within the restoration course of, elevating development ever nearer to the unique baseline development. Early rounds (1–4) of fiscal coverage had been additionally very useful in assuaging a number of the losses in financial development attributable to obligatory enterprise closures, avoidance, and different causal components. The advantages of the final spherical of fiscal coverage are significantly decrease, and even unfavorable, in comparison with earlier rounds attributable to crowding out of personal funding and the necessity for companies to repay loans. A number of areas of future analysis current themselves. A primary instance could be growing future situations involving new variants, simpler vaccines, and simpler anti-viral remedies.” • Observe, as common, the entire suppression of non-pharmaceutical interventions (and the concomitant sucking as much as Massive Pharma).
“Hospitals create police forces to stem rising violence towards employees” [NPR]. • Simply in time for the pro-mask protests? (It’s been my view for a while that direct motion at Hospital An infection Management workplaces is the one manner ahead.)
“Why UCSF’s Bob Wachter and different COVID specialists say we’re at a pandemic ‘tipping level’” [San Francisco Chronicle]. “Given the politicization of public well being insurance policies, a sudden resurgence of virus-related hospitalizations and fatalities could be unlikely to result in extra sweeping authorities restrictions corresponding to lockdowns and masks mandates. The U.S. dropped a lot of its pandemic-era restrictions lengthy earlier than the general public well being emergency got here to an finish. And society has moved on too. It’s unlikely that individuals would rally collectively towards a typical enemy as they did in March 2020.” Rule #2. Extra: “‘For lots of people, it truly is type of like a tipping level the place it’s like, ‘I’ve accomplished that for 2 or three years and I simply can’t do it anymore,” stated Wachter, who added that he nonetheless places on a masks in crowded settings. ‘Except you begin seeing an enormous variety of deaths* — you recognize, 2020 degree of deaths — I feel lots of people actually are previous it and so they’re not going again.’” • This from the dude who chivvied his personal spouse to a superspreading occasion, the place she acquired Covid, after which Lengthy Covid, which she nonetheless has. Keep in mind how all of the individuals who had been incorrect about Iraq cashed in, and all those that had been proper had been ostracized? Like that, besides orders of magnitude worse. NOTE * The variety of deaths “below the curve” remains to be huge — extra huge than the deaths throughout Biden’s Omicron jouissance, as I present right here. However you’ll by no means hear that from PMC sociopaths like Wachter.
Thanks, Rochelle:
That is my mom. She lives in a reminiscence care facility. Not one of the caregivers, nurses, docs or directors put on masks. Neither do guests. She caught covid, and by no means recovered her means to stroll after that. They’re “following CDC pointers”. #KeepMasksInHealthCare pic.twitter.com/xvfILLpEZ4
— Carol Ezell (@CarolEzell7) Could 16, 2023
I may file this below Class Warfare, too. Since that’s what it’s:
As a result of lockdowns saved many lives however lockdowns additionally disrupted capitalist exercise the one place left for mainstream discourse to go was to argue saving lives should not be a precedence aim of state governance. On this context, do not be stunned by something that comes subsequent
— Nate Bear (@NateB_Panic) Could 17, 2023
The whinging as a result of for 2 months folks couldn’t go to Applebee’s until they determined infecting others was value it!
This too:
A very regular factor to do in regular instances is to frantically inform everybody how regular every little thing is again and again.
— The Yeti of Kananaskis (@LordOfTheYeti1) Could 14, 2023
* * *
Lambert right here: I’m getting the sensation that the “One thing Terrible” is likely to be a sawtooth sample — variant after variant — that averages out to a completely excessive plateau. A lot of exceptionally nasty sequelae, almost certainly deriving from immune dysregulation (says this layperson).
Case Information
NOT UPDATED From BioBot wastewater information from Could 15:
Lambert right here: Except america is totally, er, distinctive, we must be seeing a rise right here quickly. UPDATE Nonetheless on the excessive plateau. Are we’re the purpose within the world pandemic the place nationwide experiences actually diverge?
For now, I’m going to make use of this nationwide wastewater information as the very best proxy for case information (ignoring the medical case information portion of this chart, which for my part “goes unhealthy” after March 2022, for causes as but unexplained). A minimum of we will spot developments, and evaluate present ranges to equal previous ranges.
Variants
NOT UPDATED From CDC, Could 13, 2023:
Lambert right here: Seems like XBB.1.16 is rolling proper alongside. Although XBB 1.9.1 is within the race as properly.
Covid Emergency Room Visits
From CDC NCIRD Surveillance, from Could 13:
NOTE “Charts and information offered by CDC, updates Wednesday by 8am. For the previous yr, utilizing a rolling 52-week interval.” So not the whole pandemic, FFS (the implicit message right here being that Covid is “identical to the flu,” which is why the seasonal “rolling 52-week interval” is suitable for bothMR SUBLIMINAL I hate these folks a lot. Discover additionally that this chart exhibits, at the very least for its time interval, that Covid is just not seasonal, though CDC is making an attempt to get us to imagine that it’s, presumably to allow them to piggyback on the prevailing institutional equipment for injections.
Positivity
NOT UPDATED From Walgreens, Could 15:
Up 1%. Frequency all the way down to as soon as per week?
Deaths
NOT UPDATED Loss of life price (Our World in Information), from Could 7:
Lambert right here: So this information feed, er, got here alive once more.
Whole: 1,163,294 – 1,163,026 = 268 (268 * 365 = 97,820 deaths per yr, at the moment’s YouGenicist™ quantity for “dwelling with” Covid (fairly a bit greater than the minimizers would love, although they’ll discuss themselves into something. If the YouGenicist™ metric retains chugging alongside like this, I may need to resolve that is what the powers-that-be take into account “mission completed” for this explicit tranche of demise and illness).
Lambert right here: Nonetheless low.
Extra Deaths
NOT UPDATED Extra deaths (The Economist), revealed Could 9:
Lambert right here: Based mostly on a machine-learning mannequin. (The CDC has an extra estimate too, however because it ran endlessly with an enormous typo within the Legend, I figured no one was actually it, so I acquired rid it. )
Stats Watch
Housing: “United States Housing Begins” [Trading Economics]. “Housing begins within the US unexpectedly elevated 2.2% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized price of 1.401 million in April of 2023, in comparison with market forecasts of 1.4 million. Information for March was revised sharply decrease to 1.37 million from 1.42 million, as excessive costs, rates of interest, and tighter lending requirements proceed to weigh.”
* * *
* * *
As we speak’s Worry & Greed Index: 57 Greed (earlier shut: 55 Impartial) [CNN]. One week in the past: 58 (Greed). (0 is Excessive Worry; 100 is Excessive Greed). Final up to date Could 16 at 1:36 PM ET.
The 420
“A Retrospective Examine to Decide the Impression of Psychedelic Remedy for Dimensional Measures of Wellness: A Quantitative Evaluation” (preprint) [medRxiv]. n = 65. “The World Well being Group (WHO) defines wellness because the optimum state of well being of people and teams. No research thus far has recognized the impression of psychedelic medicines on optimizing wellness utilizing a dimensional method. Utilizing this method, remedy results could be measured extra broadly utilizing a composite rating of individuals’ world perceptions of change for ache, perform, and temper scores. Given the priority in earlier work for retrospective research of individuals’ self-medicating with these substances, the character of this research design permits for a protected option to develop additional proof on this space of care, with wellness because the broad indication…. Using varied psychedelic medicines could also be related to a broad vary of modifications that might assist make clear the mechanism of how they impression wellness sooner or later. Ache, psychological well being, perform, and total high quality of life accordingly improved after the usage of these medicines. Minor variations between the medication weren’t discovered as vital, indicating that the perceived advantages appeared to be particular to the psychedelic class. Quite a few limitations exist to this kind of research which was comparatively small in dimension, retrospective and nameless in nature.” • I detest the very idea of wellness, not least as a result of Obama made positive ObamaCare funded it. Nonetheless…. Paris is value a mass…..
Class Warfare
“Elon Musk: Working from house is ‘morally incorrect’ when service employees nonetheless have to indicate up” [CNBC]. “‘I feel that the entire notion of earn a living from home is a bit just like the pretend Marie Antoinette quote, ‘Allow them to eat cake,” Musk stated. ‘It’s not only a productiveness factor,’ Musk stated. ‘I feel it’s morally incorrect.’ Musk referred to tech employees because the ‘laptop computer lessons dwelling in la-la-land,’ telling [CNBC’s David Faber] it was hypocritical to earn a living from home whereas anticipating service employees to proceed to indicate up in individual. ‘Folks ought to get off the goddamn ethical excessive horse with the work-from-home bulls***,’ Musk continued.’” • Musk is right, however the one options are society extensive: Air high quality mixed with common masking.
Stochastic eugenics. You may wager 40-year-olds from wealthy households are doing advantageous, simply advantageous:
One in twenty-five American five-year olds would not make it to their fortieth birthday, the type of quantity you’d sometimes see in failing and failed states pic.twitter.com/GvM1ExSnTO
— Nate Bear (@NateB_Panic) Could 17, 2023
Every little thing’s going in response to plan!
Information of the Wired
“Hardcover Chapbook 1.0” [DIY Bookbinding]. “General I used to be very happy with the way in which this primary version turned out. However, I’ll be making a number of modifications for the subsequent model. The most important change shall be my inside paper. I used the closest paper at hand to print the inside pages and it was too skinny. Run of the mill copy paper is pretty skinny and lightweight weight. This induced a number of points. First, the printing on the again sides of the paper exhibits by way of. It additionally absorbed moisture from the glue when the quilt was utilized and warped the pages somewhat. Lastly, it simply feels flimsy. The paper I used is just not terrible, however my aim is to offer this little e-book a top quality really feel. So, I’ll be upgrading to a 32lb (120 gsm) paper for the inside on the subsequent version.” • Very nerdy! Additionally Jackpot-ready, on the belief that this e-book factor is only a fad.
* * *
Contact info for crops: Readers, be happy to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) learn how to ship me a examine in case you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to learn how to ship me photographs of crops. Greens are advantageous! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary crops! If you would like your deal with to seem as a credit score, please place it in the beginning of your mail in parentheses: (thus). In any other case, I’ll anonymize by utilizing your initials. See the earlier Water Cooler (with plant) right here. From AM:
AM writes: “A scrawny azalea that I by no means seen in prior years within the yard, including somewhat spring coloration. Grass getting inexperienced however rain wanted!”
* * *
Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not coated by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you happen to see a hyperlink you particularly like, or an merchandise you wouldn’t see anyplace else, please don’t hesitate to specific your appreciation in tangible type. Keep in mind, a tip jar is for tipping! Common constructive suggestions each makes me really feel good and lets me know I’m heading in the right direction with protection. Once I get no donations for 5 or ten days I get anxious. Extra tangibly, a relentless trickle of donations helps me with bills, and I think about that trickle when setting fundraising targets:
Right here is the display screen that may seem, which I’ve helpfully annotated:
In the event you hate PayPal, you possibly can e mail me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I offers you instructions on the right way to ship a examine. Thanks!
![Print Friendly, PDF & Email](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.printfriendly.com/buttons/print-button-gray.png?ssl=1)